Question: Ten days ago I was a front seat passenger in a head-on collision. The bags inflated and I was wearing my belt. It felt like a cannonball hit my sternum; I had trouble breathing but all that began to self-correct almost immediately. I was the only one of the four persons involved that was taken to the ER where "everything checked out.." Some days (and hours) were better than others but overall, it seemed I was slowly improving--until Friday. ! was at my computer for a few hours and didn't quit till past my bedtime. Pain had increased some (I also have lumbar problems) but when I stood up it felt as if my entire "spare tire"--my entire midriff--just gave way and slipped down an inch or two. Since then, the pain has increased significantly and it is more consistently "through and through," coming through (so to speak) just a little farther leftward. The "epicenter" is on the right side of my sternum parallel to my lower right breast. but some spasms involve the muscles of almost the entire rib cage. The most frequent trigger is, I think, esophageal. I can avoid painful twists and turns but a sneeze, cough, laugh, sniffs, stifled belches (especially) and even inhaling deeply can launch a spike up to 6 - 8 (the baseline of continuous pain is 2 - 4). Today for the first time I saw (yellow) bruising; curiously it is on the far LEFT side of my chest just below the breast, site of some of the mildest pain. So do I need to be in an ER or just thanking God for the tough love of airbags?