Rib Update

Tuesday night, two days after my injury I went to a walk-in clinic at the behest of a teacher of mine. I had stopped in for a private chat with her and she encouraged me to go. I went and the Dr. told me that it was cracked after an exam. She said that she did not want to do an X-ray because there is nothing they were going to do for a cracked rib and she didn't want to expose my chest to the radiation if she didn't have to. I thought that was rather nice. She told me Advil and lots of rest. An herbalist friend later gave me some other items to take which I swear helped much faster and more effectively, especially after a re-injury. Arnica is awesome.

I re-injured it Saturday (just shy of  a week from the initial injury) night after a  particularly violent sneeze that caused me to fall to the floor. Once on the floor writhing in pain I considered the fact that I might not be able to get up off my kitchen floor. I wondered to myself if I could get into a position that would allow me to sleep on the floor if need be. After some time down there pondering my situation, I eventually made it to the couch with some ice. It was a pretty ugly situation and it hurt a lot.This re-injury was just as bad if not worse than the initial injury. I thought that I had gone from a crack to an actual full break all the way through.  I spent the rest of the night on the couch and somehow made myself get in the car the next day. I was taking lots of Advil and homeopathic remedies by the morning and I could not bend at the waist. I had to squat with a flat back to pick up anything on the floor otherwise the pain was overwhelming. Bending the trunk of my body was out of the question.  I drove an hour to watch bridesmaids of a wedding I am in try on dresses because I was a little afraid to lift my arms to much. Once there was consensus I tried on one dress, very very slowly.

I drove back home and spent the rest of the day moving slowly and laying down. Laying down was actually helpful because it felt like the rib actually got shifted back into the right place. The whole following week I rested a lot. I think it may be the most I have ever rested in my life. I felt like the laziest person on earth and had to keep reminding myself that I had to heal. I just kept saying "Nepal" and "carry a backpack" to myself to get me through the week.

I am feeling much better now. The rest and homeopathic remedies really helped. I am a few weeks out from the injury. I can still feel it and every time I move the wrong way I am reminded that I am not 100% with a sharp pain. Sitting up in bed and laying down is the worst.  I now know why rib injuries are so difficult to heal, there is nothing you can really do for them, and you have to use your ribs everyday.  I'm feeling thankful that I have enough time to heal before the next trip.

Sawrah

2 comments:

  1. Oh Sawrah, I broke a my rib ( a least one) 2 years ago. Ice skating-enough said. My salvation was an extra large heating pad. After 3 weeks on the sofa, Tony bought me one and it really helped with my 'comfort' level. I was told 13 months to heal- which was as painful as the injury. I have to say they were right, a big change at that point. I've recently learned that side bends that crunch that side aggravate it and I'm trying to minimize that in my practice and even driving. It's important because hopefully you can help it to heal in the right place.
    I've loved reading about Persian tradition and the pics of Iran, esp. the mosque at Shiraz. Thanks so much for sharing. Your Nepa trip is more than I can possibly imagine, I'm so inspired by your curiosity, bravery and richness of the life you've created. I wish you fast healing and sweet dreams.

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  2. I absolutely relate to the large heating pad. It saved me. I rested for three weeks but then had to get back in the gym due to the impending Nepal trip. Luckily by the time I got to Nepal it had been about 7 weeks and it didn't bother me much during the trip. There was so much else going on to deal with that it became secondary. I was quite happy about that. Thank you for your wonderful comments Erin!

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