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How Should A Bruised Swollen And Painful Rib Site Post Injury Be Medically Diagnosed And Treated?

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Posted on Tue, 20 Feb 2024
Question: my husband walked into a pole that was sticking out on a table in his workshop. It was bruised and we though he might have broken a rib. He has been to the doctor who said it was a bruised rib. After a week or so it still was painful and there continued to be a "bump" at the rib site. A subsequent xray showed nothing broken but it's been almost a month, it's still swollen and painful. Coughing certainly aggravates it. Should he have a cat scan or ultra sound to see if there's soft tissue damage? Could it be his spleen?
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Can be muscle injury.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
An injury to the chest wall can hurt the ribs or intercoastal muscles or internal organs like lungs or spleen. But an internal organ injury will cause an extensive internal bleeding immediately and cannot go unnoticed for a week. The persistent pain he has can be due to injured intercoastal muscles that can be detected on an MRI scan.
Till then mild pain killers, rest and using a chest belt for proper support can help in reducing the discomfort.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal

Orthopaedic Surgeon

Practicing since :1994

Answered : 12314 Questions

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How Should A Bruised Swollen And Painful Rib Site Post Injury Be Medically Diagnosed And Treated?

Brief Answer: Can be muscle injury. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for posting your query. An injury to the chest wall can hurt the ribs or intercoastal muscles or internal organs like lungs or spleen. But an internal organ injury will cause an extensive internal bleeding immediately and cannot go unnoticed for a week. The persistent pain he has can be due to injured intercoastal muscles that can be detected on an MRI scan. Till then mild pain killers, rest and using a chest belt for proper support can help in reducing the discomfort. I hope this answers your query. In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out. For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal Wishing you good health. Regards. Dr. Praveen Tayal.