I hurt my ribs on a ride in September they seemed to have been healing and then in December I twisted a certain way and I was in so much pain - went to doctor had x-ray no break I also at the time was having pain in my hips so I had those xrayed too - since there was no conclusion they suggested a bone scan which I had done - the results from the bone scan said trauma - I went to an orthopedist for my hips and unfortunately he was unable to treat my ribs since they do not treat the chest but he did look at my written report for my bone scan and he said it most probably torn cartilage (the report said 9th rib) my question is if it torn cartilage how long does it take to heal it still hurts and I am afraid to move a certain way so it does not flare up again - I have stopped exercising - my GP just said it has to heal and nothing else - is there another type of doctor I can see besides an orthopedist that will treat me - thank you