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Suggest Treatment For Pain And Popping Sound Near The Ribs

Posted on Mon, 30 Mar 2015

Question: I need to know if I need an xray or something. More than a week ago I laid down hard on my elbow with my right upper rib cage, and something hard popped and movedinside my ribs, and the pain knocked the breath out of me. For 2 years I have had some tenderness and pain in this area with spams into back at night that make me yell all night when I turn over. I can't get doctors to take this seriously. I am thin, age 60, have Sjogrens Syndrome along with several other autoimmune things. I have tizanidine but it doesn't seem to help this. It hurts when I breath, lift, or bend over and feel full inside, especially after eating a few bites.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Naveen Kumar Sharma (39 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
You should get x ray of the ribs

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I have studied your case and I think you might have sustained a rib injury. There is very high chances that it can be a rib fracture. It causes severe pain, patient can not seep on that side and severe pain during coughing and sneezing. I have following suggestions to you.
1.Get chest x ray to confirm the diagnosis.
2.If there is fracture, you need to avoid jerking, sleeping on that side, weight lifting. You can take Brufen tablet for pain.
You need to consult orthopaedic doctor. (Bone and joint specialist) He will prescribe you pain killers, local ointment like Volitran. Rib injury takes some time in healing. Pain can be there for three to four weeks. Avoid strapping rib cage with bandages.
I hope this answer will be useful for you. Let me know if there is any other followup questions.
thanks

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