Rib injury?

Think I took it “beyond my edge” in half moon pose last week & have endured strong pain along my right side ever since. First it hurt a lot just to take deep breaths; that has subsided (somewhat), but it still hurts when I get up from seated position, etc. Thought at first this was a pulled muscle, but now that it’s been 10 days & the pain is still pretty bad, I’m wondering if I might have fractured a rib or at least pulled some tendons around the rib cage. Any others have experience w/ such an injury & if so, recommendations on healing (inclu when I can again practice?)?

Much thanks-

I found this site by googling “rib injury,” because I, too, have cracked a rib doing yoga last week. I’m going to try to go to yoga tomorrow (the first class since the injury) and see how much I can do. My research says there’s nothing to do for it but spend the six weeks it will take to heal. Also, I’ve read that we need to take a deep breath at least once an hour to make sure our rib cages expand so that the healing doesn’t restrict our lung capacity.

Any other knowledge or advice would be most appreciated.

How the heck does one crack a rib with yoga practice ? I’d understand if it was bull fighting. :o

I’ve only been practicing yoga since September 2007, so please forgive me for not knowing the name of this pose. I was laying face down on my mat, left arm stretched out in front of me, right arm reaching back and holding my right foot, forming an oval, stretching. I guess most of my weight was on the lower section of my left rib cage. All of a sudden my left rib went ka-chunk! And that’s how you crack a rib doing yoga. I’m 58 and last had a bone-density scan when I was 40-42. Though I do what I can to maintain my bones, menopause and age may be agin’ me here.

I did go to class yesterday and was able to do more than I expected. I avoided poses that had me face down and those that required me to rest my ribcage on my thigh, but otherwise I was fine. I think the exercise will probably aid the healing process.

The same thing happened to me last week at yoga class with the same pose! Did you have an x-ray takent to see if you actually cracked a rib? And what did you do for it?

I’d like to lasso this thread before the heard runs amok:-)

Ribs are very difficult to fracture without a trauma impact. So with the feedback on rib fractures I would need to know what imaging was done and what sort of fracture was visible where.

Ardha Chandrasana (half moon) obviously does not place weight or trauma upon the rib cage. In that pose a muscle pull is more likely (perhaps the intercostals) but it would have to be assessed. Of course it’s advised to do asana with verve but not aggression or violence (aka moving past one’s edge).

The pose I was doing was BowPose Dhanurasana. I had hold of my left foot with my left hand and when I rolled slightly to grab my right foot with my right hand I felt the separation. I don’t know if this was a fracture or not. I have not had it x-rayed, but it’s been a week and 75% of the soreness and pain is gone. Have you heard of this happening?

Absolutely. When there is not enough opening in the student’s rib cage (backbends and pranayama) then it’s possible to strain the connective tissue in between and around the ribs. I’d be very surprised to learn you’ve fractured a rib in that pose.

Hello yoga friends,

  • first reply was lost? so I send it again-
    A few days ago I was doing my daily yoga and qigong and this time I added Dhanurasana (which was ages ago). I was comfortable, but then suddenly I felt a pain and heard a sound like bones were rolling over eachother. This was on the left side. The days after that the pain became worse, so I stopped all exercising. Even when lifting something or pressing I feel something moving and it radiates a bit to the back. After looking for info I think I really fractured a rib or more, maybe in the area of the cartilage connection. It was the weight what caused it, I’m sure - although I my weight is 104 pounds. I have no osteoporoses as far as I know, am on a low fat raw vegan diet mostly (steam some veggies for digestibility) so no milk products. I came here on my search on the internet and thought I post my experience. Thanks for your earlier posts on the subject here, now I know that this can happen.
    I do my yoga daily for years, was a ballet dancer once, so am pretty conscious about what I can do and what not. But this was an accident I did not expect. So take care,
    best wishes to you all, Love, Sita

Thank you Sita, your words really comfort me. I am also a daily practioner, with a relatively strong practice, healthy body, no serious injuries till this one, also vegetarian yogui diet. I was in a three hour yoga workshop and at the very end, we went from Salamba Sarvangasana to Matsyasana, up to Dhanurasana, back down to salamba sarvangasana. I had done this series many times, i do believe I pulled somthing very much like this whole thread explains. Strong pain in left side too, i feel what you describe so well here. If you have time I would love to know how you got better from this too! NAMASTE

शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

Well, it is some time ago now and I don’t remember exactly how long it took to heal. I took a break from yoga for at least 3 months but started with some easy qigong again (the 8 pieces of brocade) earlier than that. I remember that bending to the side was also a problem (as was operating my greenstar juicer) and I used that as a sign to wait with all exercising until the pain had subsided. Instead I took longer walks.
Hope you’ll heal soon; rib fractures or sprains usually are only treated with rest, so that is the best you can do as far as I know. Unless there is a chance that you risk your lung to be punctured. A physician should be able to diagnose that.
I only recently took up yoga again, but not esp. because of my ribs. I can do all the twists and other asana’s without any discomfort now and actually just had forgotten about the injury. Haven’t done Dhanurasana yet though.
Best wishes and have a nice December month :slight_smile: Namaste

I was in a class- halfway through had to stop due to screaming pain along my right side (i don’t exactly remember how/when but i could not continue with the class). I sought Chiropractic care- *when he told me water, water, water, veggies, veggies, veggies, (greens), and lay off the dairy and “love your liver”. I sat around for about 2 weeks, thanksgiving came and went (and so did this healthy ‘diet’). Two days ago, my sister wants to start Yoga so we go. My right side didn’t feel even and smooth- it hurt to get up from sitting, but i was able to use the muscles and take a deep breath in. I saw the Chiropractor yesterday and he told me that the cartilage connecting ribs together (like a glove reaching out to all the ribs) can calcify (easier in women) and that it can then crack like a stress fracture. 6 weeks of healing time. Keep moving, stay warm. Don’t go into extremes of motion. But damn does it hurt. After sitting on my butt for two weeks - i would agree that moving is better- breathe and trust your body, accept the pain as an appropriate response and send love to the places in need. Today in ‘half-moon’ pose i felt something along my ribs separate. Then came a loud pop and some sliding, then later again. I’m just hoping it’s my body’s way of finally “letting go” or “releasing” this tension. It’s very painful but I have to appreciate that the rest of my body has potential and must stay active and healthy. Feel free to offer some insights. :slight_smile:

Just reread this and thought I give you my insight: I really think you need more rest, otherwise it will only take longer to heal, when things keep on popping and sliding…That happened to me also, so then I knew I had to stop for a while. I’m glad I took a long break and focused more on walking during that time. Now I can do my daily yoga again without any problem!
Wish you’ll heal soon, Namaste :wink:

[QUOTE=slipstreamkayakin;8913]Think I took it “beyond my edge” in half moon pose last week & have endured strong pain along my right side ever since. First it hurt a lot just to take deep breaths; that has subsided (somewhat), but it still hurts when I get up from seated position, etc. Thought at first this was a pulled muscle, but now that it’s been 10 days & the pain is still pretty bad, I’m wondering if I might have fractured a rib or at least pulled some tendons around the rib cage. Any others have experience w/ such an injury & if so, recommendations on healing (inclu when I can again practice?)?

Much thanks-[/QUOTE]

Half moon pose in any way can not hurt your ribs at all. It might be some other reasons or some wrong postures you have practiced I suspect.

Better to go to a doctor right now. Just forget of doing any yoga asana any further for the time being. Get your ribs in perfect functioning first and then you can start doing yoga again.

To strengthen your ribs I can suggest you to practice “Matsyasana or Fish Pose”. This asana will surely tone up the muscles of your ribs as well as help you get your digestion better.

Hope this helps.

Thanks

Kindest to you,

ohm shanti, yogis.

i, too, am a recent victim of a rib dislocation… i finally made it up into handstand, and flipped over, landing with a thud on the side of my rib cage. i have been in excrutiating pain in my chest for over a week, now. the x-rays came back normal, but my chiropractor says i dislocated a rib and pinched a nerve. i am dying to get back to yoga, but it hurts to do chataranga or anything that puts pressure on my chest… any advice?