Well it was inevitable…I am back on the injured reserve list.
I was rolling with a particularly strong partner in jiu jitsu last night, he was attempting to grab my arm for an arm bar which I was fighting with my body with good positioning so I didn’t feel like I was in any real danger. He was on his stomach trying to roll me over and I was half sitting up and feeling safe because I had a lot of leverage. All of a sudden he stretched out against my ribs in an attempt to pull my arm free and I felt my ribs slide and pop. It actually felt like one of my ribs were getting twisted around but I’m pretty sure that’s not possible. I yelled out in pain and when my partner let go my it felt like my ribs flipped around a few more time before settling. Needless to say that was the end of open mat for this guy.
On the drive home my ribs “popped” a few more times which took my breath away. Of course I iced and took some ibuprofen and did a little “googling” before going to bed.
It looks to be a fairly common injury in BJJ, one that seems to take anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks of rest before getting back to 100%. I tried to test my limits this morning at the gym and found its really difficult to do anything with a rib injury. I probably will not be going to the gym for the rest of the week. I do not plan on going to the doctor because everything I’ve read says that a doctor cannot and will not do much for a rib injury unless it is really serious, plus my general practitioner gives me a really blank look when I explain my injuries (I really have to find a sports medicine doctor!).
The rib has popped at least four times this morning, twice when I was trying to get into my car and twice at the gym when I was trying to get up from laying down on the ground. I am continuing to ice and trying to move around as little as possible at this point in my rehab. My plan is to completely rest for at least 2 to 3 days before going back to the gym and stretching and maybe doing a little light cardio to loosen up and test my range of motion.
I definitely don’t want to re-injure and have a long term injury with rib protrusions I have been reading on some forums!
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Yo. I had a similar problem practicing BJJ. Although I didnt hear a pop. The doctor said Intercostal Neuralgia…Its been 3 weeks without any change. I recommend not doing anything until 100% recovered. I think rib injury its a pretty common injury in BJJ
I actually didn’t go to the doctors for this particular problem. I thought all the symptoms were pretty obvious. I am completely healed from the intercostal strain and it took about 6 weeks. Unfortunately the only real solution to the injury is time and rest! Good luck and make sure you don’t push yourself too hard.
I separated a rib right in the middle of a No-Gi match at the recent Texas International Grappling Festival in Houston. Finished the match but the Diagnosis….6-8 weeks.
X-Rays confirmed the separation from the cartilage. I am wearing an Everlast Body Wrap and am able to run and lift moderately heavy weights with no discomfort, however, if I twist or bend a certain way, the rib will pop. Through trail and error (aka PAIN), I have developed a routine that will allow me to at least keep fit until I can roll again. I hate getting Old………….
As long as your still in the gym working around the injury your doing better than most people!
Do you think your Everlast Body Wrap is effective in your rehabilitation? If so where did you get it, I’m sure many readers would appreciate it.
Good luck and I hope your recovery is swift!
This happened to me about 2 weeks ago. My grappling partner had me in a body triangle, and when I tried to escape my rib popped. It took my breath away for a minute, but I was able to continue rolling. Unfortuntely, the pain got worse a couple days later. I had x-rays taken that confirmed the rib wasn’t broken, so I’m assuming that I separated it. I was able to do some cardio/calesthenics, but anything that required any real ab work was definitely out of the question. Until just a few days ago, anytime I sat up or laid down and lifted my legs it felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest. Part of me wonders if it would heal faster if I just stop all training, but I can’t do that. I’m still going to BJJ class and doing all the cardio/calesthenics and technique I can without causing tremendous pain. Yesterday I was even able to do some ab work. I haven’t rolled in 2 weeks, and it’s borderline depressing. I’m glad to see that it didn’t take you forever to heal. I’m hoping I’ll be able to do some light rolling in another week or two. (Fingers crossed)
It really is depressing being injured and not being able to train like you’re used to! In my opinion it’s one of the worst things about being injured. I can’t believe your still training! I wasn’t able to do anything on the mat for a month at least if I remember correctly although I still went to the gym and used that time to stretch and do whatever exercises didn’t hurt.
Keep your chin up, ….till the next injury!
I am on week 4 of my rib separation injury. I feel like I keep injuring it by re-tearing through various activities. of course, laying down and sleeping is the worst – piercing pains at night! How long does it take for these things to heal? Its weird – I will think I am on the path to recovery and then something will happen that suggests I have injured the area even further? Any thoughts? Anyone?
did the same thing 2 weeks ago, also in bjj… fortunately i can breath normally, but most exercises (other than walking) is not without the “stabbing” chest pain… so I’m avoiding all training (used to train 2x a day – cardio/resistance + martial arts)… hopefully in a month or 2 i’ll be back…
how has everyone else’s recovery been going?
Darnell,
I also did cardio/weight training in the morning before work then training at night. I can tell you what I did was to still go to the gym in the morning (I was already used to going and it would have felt strange if I didn’t go) just to do very light cardio, ie: bike or elliptical once the rib stabilized a bit.
Then most the rest of the time was spent on stretching. I tried to push it just a bit further each day so my muscles wouldn’t tighten up on me and I think it really helped me on my road to recovery.
Good luck on your recovery!
hey plz someone tell me how to treat this, I just did it tonite, when it actually happened i really didnt notice it, i just kept going and each time it slipped out it got more painful, finally after 2-3 times I had to stop. I went to sit down in the chair and any twisting movement it slips out, its very sore and I can take full breathes with very minor pain. its more sore than anything as long as i dont let it slip out. what do i do. driving is a bitch. I did mine doing bjj i was on top in side control. my coach recommends to stand up straight take a deep breathe and slowly arc your back to get it to reset. it make sense and when done SLOWLY it does make it feel better. what else can i do
and a good tip what ever side you have the rib injury moving that same side arm leads to it slipping, do not test this cause it will slip out. and im no doctor but you idiots till working out and letting it slip out again and again. you just doing more damage each time it comes out of place. which will create a reocurring injury. rest let it heal ice it, but i need to know what else i can do. cause im def not listening to these retards that are stil working out
I am not givng out medical advice, I’m conveying what I did to deal with the injury when I had it!
I also did not “work out”, I just continued my gym routine and did what cardio I could and tried to keep my body limber and loose without pushing it too far.
I have 100% healed from this injury and I can attest to the fact that I do not have any problems with it “slipping” again and again.
Again, you have to feel comfortable with whatever you choose to do, good luck in your recovery.
I definitely remember how painful driving was! Something I didn’t really expect from a rib injury although it makes sense when you think about it.
Please read through my recovery progression to see how I dealt with my injury, I will say I knew something was wrong immediately from all the movement in my ribs that I felt and I was no longer able to spar that night!
As I’ve said before it took approximately 6 weeks for me to heal, good luck in your recovery!
Okay, I am an orthopedist and was dumb enough to try BJJ. While I was in guard I sustained an awkward shoulder into the right side of my chest. I immediately felt my ribs “dislocate” from my sternum. It took 20 minutes to relocate them. The dislocation was excruciating pain. I had a CT Scan which showed a posterior dislocation of the 6th and 7th ribs. Over the next few days it would continually dislocate and relocate with manipulation. I am 10 days out now completely laid up (bored out of my mind), with some popping but no dislocating any further. I was just wondering if anyone had anything similar. Will this stabilize without surgery? I have already looked into possible surgery for this with a thoracic surgeon. He has never performed this type of surgery before. This is different from “slipping rib” syndrome as it completely dislocates, not just “slipping”. Anybody with a similar issue?
Jeff, you are an orthopaedist and knows about slipping rib syndrome. Can you diagnose and perform the surgery for this or know of anyone who does? thank you
On your dislocation, have you tried chiropractic manipulation?
1 month ago during a bjj tournament I suffered a rib dislocation and break. I heard multiple pops every time I moved my Core for about a week and was in severe pain. Week 2 the pain started to subside but still had to be very careful with movements ex: getting out of bed was very hard driving tying my shoe. My ribs still poped about 10 times during the day and was uncomfortable when it poped but not extremely painful. Week 3 started to feel more back to normal getting in and out of the car was easier every day things felt much better . Was able to lightly jog and lift my 30 lb son without pain. Certain movements still hurt but could tell the rib was starting to get stronger. It pops only while in bed if I turn to quick and not is not as bad feeling when it does.week 4 went for a slightly harder jog not long but can feel that it is good to get blood circulation going. Rib feels more sore than painful but can definitely tell that it is still healing. Still pops a little if a move a certain way. I have a noticeable bump were the dislocation was also.Since my injury I have iced at least 5-10 times a day, took a high does of vitamin c acupuncture and rested . I feel my recovery is progressive and by week 8 should be able to resume my normal activity Bjj,surfing, weightlifting ect. as told by others and now by experience rib injury takes time,the doc said 6-8 weeks for it to heal And I feel that is pretty right on compared to my progress .
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