Cracked ribs, what on earth happened?

[Britpilot]

I've been a recreational slalom skier for 35 years and although not at anything like competition standard can ski pretty hard at 36mph. (Free skiing only , no course alas) Last year I got a 2014 Radar Vice to replace my trusty 1998 O'Brien TRC (Remember them?). Wow what a difference twenty years of ski development makes! After getting used to the Vice last year I have been really going for it this season.

 

Early morning last weekend conditions on the lake were perfect, flat water and no other boats around (rare!). Cutting hard across the second wake and whack, smack into the water hard. Ouch that hurt, felt like a prizefighter had punched me in the left ribs very hard. Ski stayed on so I didn't go over the front and no other hurts other than left ribs. Had to go to the ER where three non misaligned rib fractures showed up on the x-rays. Bummer! Anybody else had rib fractures in falls and found out why?

 

In 35 years I think I have hit the water from every direction and way possible and had a few strains and pulled muscles but never broke anything. I have always used a regular CGA O'Brien four buckle vest up to this year when I switched to a Radar vapor impact vest. The vapor is wonderfully comfortable but I wonder if it offers as much rib protection as a regular CGA vest? Anyway I have decided to upgrade to the Radar X-Vest just in case.

 

Now I just have to recuperate for four weeks and miss out on peak summer skiing. Oh well Ces't la Vie.

[A_B]

Lake Gremlin.

Check fin, wing, bindings, etc., for movement.

The front screw of my wing sheared off as I hit the first wake and it was like I had a rope from shore tied onto the ski. One of the nastiest falls I have taken.

[Waternut]

Put the vapor vest on and see if any of your fractures lines up with the seams in the vest. I've cracked/broken ribs 3 times in the last 7-8 years and every one of them was actually caused by the vest itself. When I would put my vest on, the most painful spots lined up perfectly with large seams in the vest. In fact the last one was caused by the Radar X-vest right in the middle of the "X" but so far I've been lucky the last 3 years with Radar comp vests despite some pretty serious crashes. What I've found is the significant pressure point differences at the seams of most vests (expecially CGA vests) is what causes the fractures.

[Britpilot]

Thanks for the prompt replays guys. I will check out your suggestions. I'm a corporate pilot and the rib cracks haven't stopped me flying, but I'm not heaving any customer's heavy bags around. My co-pilot can do that for a while,

[escmanaze]

I've had the front wing screw problem before as well. To this day, that was still the hardest crash I have ever taken...by far.

[adkh2oskier]

I never broke any ribs but tore cartilage in between them, never knew until then how bad injured ribs are. They only hurt when you breathe.

[303Skier]

Cracked mine when I hit the ball and slammed down on my rib cage. Give it a month and you should be good to go!

[Chris Taylor]

I did this 2 years in a row hitting the wake with my ribs, water gets very hard above 40mph as you are crossing the wakes.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

I've had similar rib injuries several times over the years. After seeng a doc on the first one he said the treatment is the same for a break, strained ligaments, or a bruise - don't do anything that hurts for 3-6 weeks. (Modern medicine at its finest;).

 

Typically 3 weeks of no activity and whatever you do, don't sneeze.

[Waternut]

Yeah I don't really know the extent of my injuries because I felt like it was a moot point to get them x-rayed only to have the doctor tell me "Good luck". Granted I never suspected anything more serious injuries. Just lots of chest pain breathing, sitting, standing up, sneezing, sleeping, etc....lol

[DooSPX]

I'm sorry you sustained injures. I hope you heel quickly and get back on the water. The only experience I have with cracked ribs is from a cliff diving experience going wrong.

 

[skibumm]

I cracked 2 ribs wakeboarding the first week of june on day 2 of a 10 day Powell trip. IT sucked big time I was however able to cinch my vest up tight and gut through getting up on my ski. Once I was up it was not too bad but I did not ski at all aggressive because I did not want to have a hard fall. I can still feel it when I sneeze.