Question: My son was playing (unprotected) football and was tackled pretty hard. He has been complaining of pain in his side where his ribs are located. He is 18 so my attempts to take him to the ER were all in vain. But he has been complaining now for over a week. I am sure this is just a pulled or bruised muscle but he thinks he broke a rib. What can we do to speed the healing process in an 18 year old boy/man who has sustained this injury? I am pretty sure if he broke a rib he would have gone down after being tackled, stayed down and said yes when i asked to take him to the emergency room. But i didnot even find out until 3 days later when he complained about pain sitting up and down, he is an avid weight lifter and cannot perform his normal excercises. What can he do to treat himself at home to speed healing and how long will this take until he can return to normal excersicing? Or should he be excercising at all? He does NOT play sports normally, just interested in excercise and health fitness and has been since he was 11 years old. Advice??

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