Skiing with bruised ribs

[Marco]

For the first time in my skiing carreer (amazingly), I bruised my ribs in a hard fall into the wakes last weekend. The injury is in the area around the sternum under the pectoral, and feels like it is in the connective tissue as much as the ribs themselves. Took most of the week off, then tried to ski yesterday, but stood up after 2 ball due to pain. My question is: Will I do more damage and extend the healing time by continuing to ski, or is it OK to ski if I can manage the pain aspect. It has been a really slow start to the season here, and I don't want to lose any time on the water.

 

Input from anyone with similar experience or general knowledge about the subject is much appreciated.

[rodltg2]

I did this once and just the pressure from the water once I jumped in hurt so bad I had to get back out. It was alfonsjout a week later. I think I waited 3 weeks before I could comfortably ski again. I actually started using a uscg app vest in fear of duplicating this injury again. I have since gone back to a slimmer vest. I guess the brain forgets the pain !

[gator1]

I don't know if skiing healing. But. Unless you are a much better man than I you'll flinch every time you hit the wake and it'll take weeks to get rid of the flinch once you are healed. Sleeping is fun too

[ral]

@Marco, I feel your pain. I had the same, and unfortunately had to rest for more than 3 weeks. The problem is that bruised/pulled muscles (intercostal in this case) need the 3 weeks rest to recover. You will not heal if you do not rest.

[ForrestGump]

Doctor told me I could ski when it didn't hurt to turn my shoulders quickly both directions. Took about 3 weeks.

[9400]

I've done it twice, was out about 3-4 weeks both times. The second time I was able to ski the next day but had to cut it short. It was deep water starts that seemed to cause the most problems/pain for me.

[Waternut]

Agreed...stay off of it for a few weeks. Best case scenario, you change your skiing to accomodate pain and have to fix that problem later. Worst case scenario, you actually crack the ribs on your next fall and are out much longer.

 

I've bruised ribs 3 times. The first time I bruised them, I just thought my chest hurt because the fall knocked the wind out of me. The next day was fine but the next 6 weeks after that was agony because I made it worse. All 3 times I bruised/cracked ribs, I was wearing a USCG approved vest. The last time I was actually wearing the Radar X vest. The thing I've noticed is the bruise/crack always happens in the gaps between really thick padding or at the edge of the vest.

[Horton]

Time off will not kill you and you will heal faster

[Marco]

Well, it sounds like the consesus is 3 weeks off. That is more painful than the ribs. I guess I'll be doing a lot of driving/coaching the next few weeks. Thanks for all the input.

[danbirch]

@Marco what kind of vest were you using? I've been thinking about getting an Eagle vest, but am wondering if going so light on padding if it would increase the chance of rib injury?

[gator1]

So was it an otf into the wake?

[Marco]

@danbirch It was an Eagle vest. Don't know if another vest would have made a difference or not.

 

@gator1 It was more of an out the side into the 1st wake. Got lean locked coming out of 3 ball at 35. Took a direct hit on the upper torso.

[SDNAH2OSKIER]

You got balls for even trying. I actually broke a rib and it was pretty horrible. I remember sneezing and dropping to my knees and shedding a few tears. I would listen to your doc and the group here, I would think 3 weeks would be minimum. I would also ask about ice/heat therapy for the bruised area and stay on an anti inflammatory. Ask around, a lot of docs will just say sit it out, but others may suggest some helpful strategies to get you on the water again. My bro is an orthopedic surgeon and will tell you most docs are pretty conservative but some sports minded physicians may help you get back on your ski a little sooner.

[Marco]

My ribs are only bruised, not broken, so it is not nearly as bad. I broke 6 ribs and punctured a lung in a snow skiing accident about 8 years ago, so I can relate to the agony of broken ribs. That kept me on the sideline for 6 weeks.

[gregy]

I bruised mine last year the same way but more on lower side of my rib cage. I took a week off and then just took it easy skiing for the next month until the pain had gone away. I guess it just depends on how bad the pain and damage is. One of guys I ski with said he couldn't left himself on to the platform and thought he had broken ribs, but after xrays it was only bruised. My ribs hurt like hell but not that bad.

[Marco]

I could ski, albeit with pain, which I am unfortunately used to. My main concern is doing more damage and or increasing my recovery time. I'd rather miss a few weeks and then start cutting rope than be stuck skiing 28's all summer because my ribs haven't healed. Given my lack of patience though, we'll see how long I can hold out...

[gregy]

Is it close to the sternum or more under the pectoral? If its right up next to the sternum you might want to be a little more concerned. I don't think skiing slowed the recovery in my case but it sure hurt my confidence, I was much more reserved and threw the handle sooner even after it healed.

[gsm_peter]

Broken ribs heal faster than cracked ribs. The body simply priortize so.

Last year i did crack three ribs in the lower back.

They normally heal in 3-6 weeks depending on your age.

I am old but waited plus 4 weeks. It hurts a bit but i could ski anyway.

Got me the radar cga west in order not to have more future problems.

It is actually sufficient Confortable skiing at my level.

Best luck

Peter

[gator1]

@marco The gator mod thingy I put on my stealths unexpectedly seems to avoid these sidewinder otfs into the wakes. I've had 4 releases now that turn into a somersault and butt first into the wake

[gregy]

My fall wasn't an OTF. I was laid out straight full speed. When I came out of the turn something happened, slack, not enough angle, not sure but when I leaned away from the boat I just keep going then smacked right into the wake.

[gator1]

@gregy Ya, I've done that before. I haven't done it since I put the gator mod on. But I doubt it would help that fall.

[Marco]

@gregy - The sternum itself is not affected. The damage starts a few inches above.

 

@gator1 - I like the innovation of the gator mod, but I don't think it would have made a difference in this particular case. I fell into the wakes from a lean lock, and there was no reason my ski needed to release. But, when I hit a buoy in '09 and blew out my achilles...the gator mod probably would have saved me then!

[Bruce_Butterfield]

I've had the bruised rib/torn cartiledge injury at half a dozen times. It really sucks as there isn't much you can do to speed the healing. Nominal time to recover to a skiable level, as other have mentioned, is 3 weeks.

 

The real problem is that if you try to ski, you will do 2 negative things: 1) slow the healing process and 2) learn bad habits as your body will subconcously compensate for the injury.

 

The best thing to do is to limit physical activity until you can take deep breaths with no pain. Ice is your best friend.

[ral]

@gator1, I do not think it would have helped in my case either, the rope (my own rope) broke when I was at full speed behind the boat. The thing I cannot justify is why was I using a rope that was caught on a propeller one week before, even if I was sure I had replaced the damaged section...

[gator1]

@ral, Yeh, even dumb luck if I exceeded the design intent isnt going to help that one.

 

Ive got a topper though: one of the drywall screws backed out of the jump ramp, I hit it, did a 180 landed on my back. Tore the bottom 4 ribs off my sternum, rammed them up over it. I crawled up onto the platform, laid there "sh!t sh!t sh!t sh!t". Stood up, took a deep breath, crunch, they popped back into place. Thought I was ok, leaned on my left arm getting in the boat, crunch, they went back over my sternum. Deep breath, crunch, back in place. The crunches weren't pleasant. Went to ER. Showed the Doc. He said "cool, nurse cmerre, look at this". I declined to crunch for the crowd.

 

My 6 year old went to school next day, says "teacher, my daddy broke all his ribs skiing yesterday". She said, "oh Brian, I'm sure he didn't break all his ribs skiing, how do you know he did? Brian says "Daddy laid on the boat and said "sh!t sh!t sh!t and was crying" Once I healed, we fiberglassed the ramp.

[thager]

@gator1 Although painful for you your last paragraph brought a smile to my face. Gotta love young ones!!

[PBD]

Unfortunately a very timely thread. I just bruised my ribs last week. This weekend I tried some free skiing and immediately retired to the bar to drown my sorrows.

 

I had the Radar CGA vest on at the time I slammed into the wake and it didn't save me.

[swc5150]

Took me a couple of months after cracking a couple of ribs before I could ski comforably again. I was pretty banged up from falling down 88 steps.

[Marco]

88 steps?? Wow, you're lucky you're alive!

[Onside135]

When it stops hurting to sneeze, you are probably good to ski again. For me 2 summers ago, it was about 5 or 6 weeks off from skiing (broken rib)...

[SkiJay]

@swc5150 I can't think of anywhere I've ever seen 88 consecutive steps without landings. What on earth did you do, fall down the steps of a Mayan temple?!

[swc5150]

We had a lake house that had an extremely high bank. 88 wooden steps from house to dock. It was a rainy day, so the steps were wet and slick, and I slipped on the first one. Started sliding down feet first, but caught my ankle on a railing post, spraining it unfortunately. This twisted my body so I went the rest of the way head first. I accelerated the entire way, finally stopping once I hit the dock. Incredible pain from head to toe...ended my season that day.

[Chef23]

@swc5150 I am amazed that is all you hurt.

 

It is hard to sit around and heal. I am going on 3+ weeks struggling with tendinitis in my achillies. I am starting to reach the point where I can walk without limping and I am thinking about skiing. Let it heal until you are pain free then get going again.

[ozski]

The intercostal muscles consists of several groups of muscles ((internal and external intercostals and subcostal and transverse thoracic muscles) which are located between the ribs and function to move and stabilize the chest wall.

 

These muscles can become strained often as a result of rapid twisting of the torso and are common in sports such as basket ball and tennis, water-skiing etc.

 

Muscle strains have three gradings:

 

Grade I Strain: This is a mild strain and only some muscle fibers have been damaged. Healing occurs within two to three weeks.

Grade II Strain: This is a moderate strain with more extensive damage to muscle fibers, but the muscle is not completely ruptured. Healing occurs within three to six weeks.

Grade III Strain: This is a severe injury with a complete rupture of a muscle. This typically requires a surgical repair of the muscle; the healing period can be up to three months.

Symptoms commonly reported are either a sharp, stabbing pains when breathing to a ever-present, painful ache or soreness located around the ribcage. The pain is aggravated by deep breathing, side bending and twisting.

 

The degree of disability along with the rate of recovery will depend on the grade of the muscle strain. Given above is a general guideline as to the rate of recovery from a muscle strain per se however, the healing time may be longer due to our constant need to breathe and therefore low grade irritation to the healing site

[bogboy]

As PDB said, a timely post. I cracked, or brushed left rib cage about 10 days ago. Just had made 3 30 mph's in a row, and had the boat driver step up to 32 mph. Lost my form from 1-2, and went down quickly. Knew right away this was a different kind of fall. Rolled on to the swim step and said I'm toast, and called it a day. Could not even swim a lap 2 days later, but went swimming about 3/4 speed yesterday. I think I will free ski pretty soon to see how it feels.

[OTF]

@marco hope you recovery quickly, take the necessary time off to heal properly so you can enjoy skiing again.

 

My philosophy on crashing is 1.) you gotta do it sometimes or your not advancing 2.) if your gonna crash bring the pain to the water not your self