Running with Cracked Ribs

First of all, I want to make something absolutely clear. I don't recommend running with cracked ribs. All information that has come my way since cracking my ribs suggests rest and limited physical activity.

But if your heart is set on going out the door for a run, the least I can do is share with you what I have been experiencing.

Well, first if you don't already know it, running with cracked ribs is going hurt. And, it will not hurt just a little; it is going to hurt a lot.

Each morning before my run, I take a 200mg Advil. It doesn't really temper the pain, but mentally I want to believe it does.

With the first few steps, the whole right side of my chest feels like it is seizing up. You may have noticed that I said steps rather than strides. This wasn't by accident. Those first few steps are really ugly as the body starts to impact ground. If I had to describe how it feels, I would say it is something like having someone grabbing hold of your rib cage and pulling on it with every breath. The deeper the breath, the harder the pull feels.

I often wonder what people who see me think. Grimacing with each stride, I am probably giving impression that running is the most painful sport on the planet.

If you can endure the first couple of miles, I would like to say that things improve. But mostly, they just remain the same. Running up hill feels a little easier. Running downhill is pretty much the other way and running on the flats just hurts.

If you are interested, I tried wrapping my ribs but with the sweat running down and not much of a stomach to hold it up, everything I have tried starts to slip down around 7 miles if not sooner. Thus, I just gave up on any kind of wrapping while running.

If there is any positive take away from running with cracked ribs, it is that when you finish and walk into your house, the pain no longer seems that bad while walking around.

On a side note, it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as when I try to get out of bed in the morning. Now, that is some really bad pain.

The doctor says 3 to 6 weeks if I take it easy. Well, I am trying J LOL

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner