Physical Therapy for a Broken Rib

Your ribs play a protective role, shielding your lungs and chest cavity from impact. Yet these forces may be sharp enough to break a rib or two, resulting in pain and breathing difficulties.

Recovery following a broken rib often involves strengthening the area and addressing breathing concerns. Learn what to expect from physical therapy.

How Rib Fractures Happen

Roughly 300,000 Americans experience a fractured or broken rib each year. For children and adults, injuries stem from exposure to a high-impact force, including from a car accident, sports or falling on a hard surface.

Older adults have higher risks for rib fractures, which may result from trauma or impact but also from osteoporosis, coughing fits, cancer or a cardiopulmonary condition.

Due to their location, broken ribs cannot be placed in a cast. Patients are advised to rest for at least six weeks to let the injury heal and engage in light activity and stretching to aid recovery.

Signs of a Broken Rib

You might be contending with a broken or fractured rib if you:

• Experience pain while breathing or find you can only take shallow breaths
• Experience pain while sneezing or coughing
• Feel achy, especially at night or right when you wake up in the morning
• Feel pain on one side of your body, especially when you apply pressure
• Find that you can’t bend or twist your body or experience sharp pain when you do
• May feel pain when lifting overhead or pushing or pulling an object
• Notice a grating sound as you breathe
• Routinely feel faint

Ignoring a broken rib exposes you to the following risks:

• Pneumonia
• Infection
• Collapsed lung
• Damage to the alveoli inside the lungs
• Muscle atrophy
• Blood clots
• The chest wall separating from the chest cavity and lungs

Treatment and Physical Therapy

In addition to rest, patients may be prescribed a painkiller, advised to apply ice to the affected area and use a spirometer to monitor breathing. In the event of a punctured lung or flail chest, surgery may be needed to repair the area with steel plates.

Expect recovery to take an average of three months. During this time, your doctor may recommend physical therapy to help you remain active and reduce risks for pneumonia, blood clots and atrophy.

Treatment often involves a combination of breathing exercises, gentle chest stretching and strengthening the muscles in your arms and torso. Your plan may further include modifications to improve healing and reduce risks for a second fracture. You can anticipate:

• Stretching the shoulder and trunk area to expand the chest cavity and improve breathing.
• Bicep strengthening, especially if your arm has been kept in a sling.
• Strengthening the back and abdominal muscles.
• Passive therapy like TENS stimulation for pain management.
• Lateral twists to increase spinal column flexibility and range of motion.
• Breathing exercises to clear any lung accumulations and heal the rib cage. These include deep breathing to prevent a chest infection or collapsed lung, clearing mucous or fluid and diaphragmatic breathing to allow air to fully pass through your lungs.
• Chest stretches to better engage these muscles and prevent tightness in the chest cavity.
• Kinesiology taping for structural support and improving blood flow as you work on improving range of motion.

For older adults, a treatment plan may further cover modifications for transferring from a chair to a bed, balance exercises to reduce fall risks and osteoporosis management.

Are you recovering from one or more broken ribs? Start your physical therapy treatment with the team at Integrated Rehab. To learn more about our services, contact us today.