Help! My Rib is out of Place!... or is it?

Did you go the emergency room thinking you were having a heart attack? Do you take a deep breath and feel like someone is stabbing you? Are you a driver with a DOT medical card and exam? While driving, do you have to roll your shoulder forward in hopes that the pain will go away? At Active Health Chiropractic, we see a lot of people who point to their back (usually between their shoulders) and say, “It hurts right here.” Others say, “It hurts when I take a deep breath, when I cough, when I sneeze, and I can’t get comfortable.” If you have answered “yes” to any of these, it may be a rib...out of place? keep reading.....

Lets first talk what they are...

It has been thought that the rib cage and ribs are immovable and set in place. However, they are somewhat flexible. There are actually three joints in the back and one joint in the front. Not only do these joints offer movement, but the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that hold your ribs together allows this movement. Your ribs move when you breath, they move when your heart beats, and move with your other organs. Now, since we breath (and don’t stop), your ribs need to expand and like we mentioned, the rib joints allow this. Like any other joints in your body, these can

become inflamed, which causes more restriction, which causes more inflammation, which.....and on it goes.

Ok, but I wasn’t doing anything!

Have you ever been in a car accident? Were you ever been bumped, been knocked, or stood up suddenly? Do you ever have allergies causing you to sneeze? Do you have bad posture? Do you ever have the flu causing you to cough? Well then, we at Active Health Chiropractic can look towards the ribs.

So tell me, is it out of place?

Generally what happens is a small rolling of the end of the rib where it attaches to each of your vertebra on your spine. This may cause some inflammation in the surrounding muscles resulting in a small sprain which feels like a knot. So, is it out of place? Knot really.

Sounds good. Now what?

First, Active Health Chiropractic may prepare the area with some gentle therapies that are designed to relax the surrounding muscles and tissue. After this, a gentle thrust or pull is applied to the joint. You may hear a little click. Oftentimes relief is immediate, but sometimes it may take a couple of hours and you will notice that you haven’t noticed the pain as it went away. Rarely would there be a need for a return appointment, but in the event that it hasn’t gone away, we may need to work on it again.

At Active Health Chiropractic our physicians can focus on your overall health and wellness, enabling you to run FASTER, jump HIGHER, and recover QUICKER. Helping you ultimately in achieving your greatest health and wellness goals.

Be it an AUTO ACCIDENT, WORK INJURY, or PLAY.

At Active Health Chiropractic, We have MORE than just your back!