brewmasher
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I broke a rib 3 weeks ago. It is healing up well and is almost pain free. How long should I wait before attempting to dive?
Broken rib
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mts0628
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hey brewmasher:
It depends on your injury. Did you puncture a lung or suffer other complications when you broke your rib(s)? Are you sure you broke them (as confirmed by a physician and an X-ray)? Does it hurt to breathe or breathe deeply at any level of exertion? How many ribs, how many places, and where?
There are so many things that can be said, and all that are best left up to a competent physician. You probably don't need a thoracic surgeon or a DMO to weigh in, but someone familiar with your history and injury so they can gauge your progression.
Good luck and don't be in such a hurry to reinjure yourself or to hinder adequate healing. The water isn't going anywhere.
With kind regards,
Thomas
It depends on your injury. Did you puncture a lung or suffer other complications when you broke your rib(s)? Are you sure you broke them (as confirmed by a physician and an X-ray)? Does it hurt to breathe or breathe deeply at any level of exertion? How many ribs, how many places, and where?
There are so many things that can be said, and all that are best left up to a competent physician. You probably don't need a thoracic surgeon or a DMO to weigh in, but someone familiar with your history and injury so they can gauge your progression.
Good luck and don't be in such a hurry to reinjure yourself or to hinder adequate healing. The water isn't going anywhere.
With kind regards,
Thomas
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1-800-446-2671 or 1-919-684-2948, Mon-Fri, 8:30am-5:00pm (ET)
DAN Divers Alert Network : Contact DAN
ScubaBoard participants tend to follow certain areas and miss out on others. Scroll down and you will see a forum for dive medicine. If you post your question there, you will get attention from several of the doctors who regularly check that forum and might not be looking in this one. If you do a search, you might find someone has already asked that question.
I have done that and gotten excellent advice.
I have done that and gotten excellent advice.
You've already gotten some good advice.
The first issue is whether there was any other trauma associated with the original injury. Other fractures or internal injuries (pneumothorax from rib puncture of the lung, for example) would set very different time frames on recovery and return to diving.
Assuming there was no other injury, the second issue is how the rib fracture was diagnosed. If it was a displaced fracture that was visible on chest x-ray, it probably deserves the same respect as any other fracture -- which means at least six weeks to heal. If it was a painful rib, but no fracture was seen on x-ray, it may simply have been a crack or even a subluxation, and you may be completely good to go when pain free.
It's important to understand the risks of diving too soon with a rib fracture, because the big one is lung puncture from sharp rib fragments, and if that occurs underwater, it could result in a lethal complication. This is most likely with displaced rib fractures from significant trauma -- big falls, auto accidents, etc. The fact that you are pain free with normal motion and with breathing and coughing suggests that the rib ends are knitted enough to be stable, so this complication is unlikely. But it is still a life-threatening risk, so if you decide to dive before the time suggested, you need to understand the risks you are therefore willing to undertake.
The physician who diagnosed and treated you at the time of your original injury will be much more able to give you good guidance than I am.
The first issue is whether there was any other trauma associated with the original injury. Other fractures or internal injuries (pneumothorax from rib puncture of the lung, for example) would set very different time frames on recovery and return to diving.
Assuming there was no other injury, the second issue is how the rib fracture was diagnosed. If it was a displaced fracture that was visible on chest x-ray, it probably deserves the same respect as any other fracture -- which means at least six weeks to heal. If it was a painful rib, but no fracture was seen on x-ray, it may simply have been a crack or even a subluxation, and you may be completely good to go when pain free.
It's important to understand the risks of diving too soon with a rib fracture, because the big one is lung puncture from sharp rib fragments, and if that occurs underwater, it could result in a lethal complication. This is most likely with displaced rib fractures from significant trauma -- big falls, auto accidents, etc. The fact that you are pain free with normal motion and with breathing and coughing suggests that the rib ends are knitted enough to be stable, so this complication is unlikely. But it is still a life-threatening risk, so if you decide to dive before the time suggested, you need to understand the risks you are therefore willing to undertake.
The physician who diagnosed and treated you at the time of your original injury will be much more able to give you good guidance than I am.
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