What Do I Do About Pain In The Back At The Ribs Area After An Injury?
Experiencing pain in back right ribs area.
Only painful during certain motions - bending over,
sitting in cushion chair, deep breathing.
It seems a muscular pain- advises on treatment and follow up given below
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
The pain you describe is typical of muscular pain. It is worse with certain motions because in those motions you use the muscle that is hurt. Deep breathing can make it worse as well because when we breath the chest wall raises and might affect the muscles that are already hurt. Sometimes if the hurt muscle is in the surface we might also be able to find the area with touch and make it worse on pressure.
To help with pain you can take paracetamol 500 mg, every 6 hours and Ibuprofen 400 mg every 6 hours after food (take them after food to protect the stomach and do not use them if you are allergic to them). You can take them both together as they work with different mechanisms and help the effect of one another.
Local warm compresses might be of help if the muscular pain is in the surface or local diclofenac cream to be used a few times a day.
Make sure you protect it from being hurt again (avoid quick strong movements and extreme exercise) and avoid massage as it might cause more swelling and pain in the muscle.
A physiotherapist might be of help as they help muscles relax and give you proper exercises to strengthen the right muscles and relax the muscle that is already hurt and in spasm.
If the pain is not better in 4-5 days or you think it is getting worse, please have a visit with your doctor. If you notice red urine (blood with urine) please see your doctor soon as well, it is very rare but depending on the intensity of trauma, the kidney may get hurt as well and might cause blood in urine.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Antoneta Zotaj, MD