Anyone get their ribs injured (just by paddling)?

[mostyn]

I wish you all the luck in the world with that. I badly bust my leg down hilling, and havent been able to do it again.

[justloafing]

Makes me wonder if he did it paddling now. I can't imagine breaking your ribs paddling. Did you take a hard spill or the board whacked you? Did it even happen surfing? I hope not and you get surfing again. Let those ribs heal.

[tomcat360]

That really blows. Mine would occasionally hurt when I surfed all day (like from 7 to 7) on a longboard (more upward force, harder glass) but it seems weird that they could break.

Hope you feel better.

[tomcat360]

wait a tick, I found one....



Damn that site is addicting!

[Bub]

Makes me wonder if he did it paddling now. I can't imagine breaking your ribs paddling. Did you take a hard spill or the board whacked you? Did it even happen surfing? I hope not and you get surfing again. Let those ribs heal.

I never got whacked by board, I'm 100% sure it was due to paddling (as bizarre as that sounds). When the ribs broke over the summer I surfed 4 straight days (never more than 1 hr session) I think I recall feel pain on some of the earlier days but after the 4th day the pain was too great and I had to quit (i.e. I could go out surfing any future days until the pain went away). I never in my wildest dreams thought it could have been broken ribs...just didn't make any sense.
Then 3 weeks ago I tried surfing again...I was fine for the 1st 15 minutes or so in the water pain-free. Then I distinctly remember feeling the sharp pain come back while paddling out, not in tha process of getting whacked by a wave or anything just very calm normal paddling and the return of an instant sharp pain. I kept surfing for another 45 minutes or so anyway despite the pain. I need to follow up with the Dr. next week. I really want to know what my options are going forward.

[tomcat360]

One option is a longboard and knee paddling.....if it comes down to that.

Or just glue some neoprene on your board.

[isaluteyou]

I think you can actually get an inflatable rash guard (saw a pic on another forum a while back someone had the same prob) Aparantly it helps. or you could manufacture your own solution. my buddy's hip got so bruised that he couldnt lie on the board at all so he manufactured a cushion that he strapped under his suit, kinda odd but it worked.

i think aches and pains are normal yours being a little extreme but maybe try going for slow conditioning or something so you build up an ammunity.

[Jimi]

Damn that really sucks.

At least when your ribs heal, they heal better than when they were unbroken, since the repaired bone is more flexible...

Also, as was mentioned before, try to use your arms to brace yourself as you paddle over waves. I bruised my bottom ribs when I first started by just charging over the back of all the waves on the way out. After each wave I was falling a foot onto my 2 ribs, so they took a pounding.

[gdude335]

i found the solution to your problem!!

i just read the post two above me.
it says that it eases the pain on the ribs.
maybe worth a try.
its pretty expensive though 100$

[slowburn]

I had a similar problem, I ended up in the hospital and was told I separated my rib from the cartiledge. its been about 4-5 weeks and in the last week the painshifte from my right side completely to my left (both an acute pain on the side of my ribs and stabbing pain in my back).
I had only been surfing 5 or 6 times when I did it but remember falling straight back into the water just for fun after a ride into shore. I seemed to have hit the water in so perfectly that I could feel my rib cage echo like a drum and then I felt some pain, mind you I was so stoked that day I just kept surfing until no one was at the beach and then later doubled over and drove myself to the hospital.

Good luck healing up, from what I gather, only absolute rest for 4 to 6 weeks will help and nutrition and supplements may speed recovery. cheers, Roly

[Tenaciousgreen]

Hey Guys,

Any of you that suffer from Rib probs should try the Bubble wrap solution. Try putting bubble wrap under your suit over your affected ribs. Works for me and since doing so my ribs I am fine. My street cred is not be so good though, although I like playing with my new breasts whilst waiting for the next set!!!

Try it though, it works.

[Surfing-Innovation]

I know I've been saying it for a while now, but if you can wait just a few more weeks, there'll be a solution for all these woes on the market!! And it'll have street cred and won't cost $100!!

[polocoach]

go to http://paddleair.com/
They seem to have a great product.
I just got back from surfing in Hawaii and my sternum and found this website, I'm going to purchase one

[oldmansurfer]

What a great product. I'll have to keep that in mind as I age. I have a benign tumor on the edge of my ribs and at some point it may cause a problem that could be solved with this device. I know polocoach's real name it is Dr Frankenstein (after this amazing resurrection)

[jaffa1949]

I did a product review of the first paddle air in my profession as a chiropractor on another site.
The new model address some of the areas where I felt it didn't quite work.
Currently I don't use it but I certainly would again if I needed it.
The new air chambers fit the body more ergonomically than the first model, less discomfort and less adjusting after paddling!

[warkick]

About 15 years too late on this reply! I recently had a similar injury to the upper ribs/sternum caused by my chest hitting the board. This wasn't from paddling. In this case I took a drop without popping up and the rough chop smashed the board into my chest, resulting in blunt force trauma. In most cases, it seems like this heals on it's own with time--but even minor fractures will receive the same diagnosis from a medical professional to rest and pop painkillers. Apparently American football players get this kind of injury all the time. At any rate, from what I understand, if it becomes difficult to breathe--as in shortness of breath and sharp pain with breath intake--there might be a more serious problem.

Has this happened to anyone else out there? I'm a U.S. East Coast surfer, so there's a lot of small slop, but when it gets even medium sized -- chest to shoulder around here-- the surf can be very rough, with cross-currents and mostly close-outs. It seems to me that this might be a pretty frequent injury.

[Naeco78]

I had a similar rib injury last spring. I over did things after not surfing for a really long time and got a strained oblique. I kept trying to power through it, but the injury stuck around for a couple months before I could paddle or lay on the board comfortably again.. or even get out of a chair without cringing. I was told that sometimes a muscle strain can hurt just as badly as a broken bone. It would usually knock the wind out of me, if I moved the wrong way.
I'm planning to ramp up my surf sessions a lot slower this spring, but I know that's really tough to do.. when the surf is firing.

[warkick]

I had a similar rib injury last spring. I over did things after not surfing for a really long time and got a strained oblique. I kept trying to power through it, but the injury stuck around for a couple months before I could paddle or lay on the board comfortably again.. or even get out of a chair without cringing. I was told that sometimes a muscle strain can hurt just as badly as a broken bone. It would usually knock the wind out of me, if I moved the wrong way.
I'm planning to ramp up my surf sessions a lot slower this spring, but I know that's really tough to do.. when the surf is firing.

Thanks Naeco--I can really empathize on this one. Good to hear from others who've had similar injuries. Incredibly, after the hard knock, I surfed another 30 minutes before realizing that I could hardly move my left arm and shoulder to paddle.Right now waiting it out and hoping it's nothing serious--probably just bruising. Can't hope to lie on a board right, now, let alone paddle and pop up. But the surf's been treating us well this year--don't know if I can handle 6-8 weeks without getting wet!

[Naeco78]

I had a similar rib injury last spring. I over did things after not surfing for a really long time and got a strained oblique. I kept trying to power through it, but the injury stuck around for a couple months before I could paddle or lay on the board comfortably again.. or even get out of a chair without cringing. I was told that sometimes a muscle strain can hurt just as badly as a broken bone. It would usually knock the wind out of me, if I moved the wrong way.
I'm planning to ramp up my surf sessions a lot slower this spring, but I know that's really tough to do.. when the surf is firing.

Thanks Naeco--I can really empathize on this one. Good to hear from others who've had similar injuries. Incredibly, after the hard knock, I surfed another 30 minutes before realizing that I could hardly move my left arm and shoulder to paddle.Right now waiting it out and hoping it's nothing serious--probably just bruising. Can't hope to lie on a board right, now, let alone paddle and pop up. But the surf's been treating us well this year--don't know if I can handle 6-8 weeks without getting wet!

I found this thing called a PaddleAir vest while searching for stuff that might help with my rib over usage in the spring. Looks like some studies were done and there might be something to it. Anyway, just wanted to give a heads up.

They're called the Rib Rocket and Ergo vest

[dtc]

O&E make a padded vest that also might be worth looking at

https://www.oceanearthstore.com/wetsuit ... vest-grey/