Can broken ribs cause problems years later?
A small percentage of rib fractures do not heal even though a fibrous capsule may envelope the fracture. A nonunion may present months to years after injury and can cause discomfort with respiration due to movement of the fracture site. Some patients find the respiratory restriction due to pain quite disabling.
How serious is a cracked rib?
While still painful, cracked ribs aren’t as potentially dangerous as ribs that have been broken into separate pieces. A jagged edge of broken bone can damage major blood vessels or internal organs, such as the lung.
What happens if a broken rib healed wrong?
Broken bones can occasionally heal in the wrong position, forming a “malunion” or “malalignment” after treatment. These misaligned bones can cause further problems and pain in the body.
Are broken ribs fatal?
Rib bones moved out of alignment can cause life-threatening complications including punctures and damage to the lungs and other critical blood vessels or organs. About 19 percent of older adults who sustained fractures of three or four ribs died from complications, according to one study.
How long does it take for a cracked rib to fully heal?
A fractured rib usually takes at least 6 weeks to heal. To help manage the pain while the fracture heals: Put ice on the injured area. Get extra rest.
How many ribs can you break without dying?
Any force hard enough to break a rib is powerful enough to cause other, more life-threatening injuries. It’s also possible to break more than one rib at a time. More than three broken ribs at one time are potentially life-threatening.
Can you break a rib without trauma?
Rib fractures seldom require specific intervention or treatment themselves, but they can be a sign of injury to the organs of the chest and abdomen. Rib fractures sometimes occur without major overuse or trauma. Pathologic fractures can happen if the bone is weak and can break with little or no trauma.
Do cracked ribs hurt more when lying down?
Lying flat makes the pain worse because the chest has to rise against gravity to get that deep breath in and sitting upright takes gravity away.