I know everyone here who has grappled for a decent amount of time has probably popped a rib or two. I'm dealing with my second one in the last few months, and it's a drag. Both of them came while fighting to finish a triangle while my opponent was dropping their trapped elbow in my stomach/on my ribs.
Usually when I'm injured I can manage to figure out what's causing it and massage (trigger point/A.R.T. stuff I've picked up from having it done to me) and stretch the problem area and speed up recovery. No luck with my ribs -- it's just a waiting game, and every time I overestimate how recovered I am and train, I set myself back a week in recovery.
Has anyone found a way to speed their recovery along? Stretches, massages, supplements, chiropractor, etc. Can anyone actually explain what happens when I rib does get "popped"? Is it a muscle spasm, or a tendon problem, or something else?
ya, popping a rib sucks. I just train through it though. Not like I think Im super tough or anything, I just try to play a different game. I actually end up working more top game because you dont really get stacked up, and if I get swept, I dont even play guard, Ill let the guy pass and take things from there. I just hate missing training for something like a popped rib.
Yeah Chris, I did it again. It was from the same damned thing...fighting to finish a triangle. It's a different spot on my rib cage, though, so I don't think it's related to the last time.
It doesn't really bother me when I roll, but inevitably when I wake up the next morning it hurts again. I have finals coming up, so maybe it's a blessing disguise.
i've done it twice, but the second time wasn't as bad. the first time was when we were working a technique from knee-on-belly and my partner was bigger than me. second time i still don't really get it, a guy had me in rear mount and i was sliding out and his heel kinda dug into the area just below my rib cage. i felt pain but i didn't think it was a big deal, so i just kept going and escaped. paid for it after.
anyway, there are a couple bits of wisdom i've picked up:
prevention. strengthen the musculature in that area by doing a "pull-down" type excerise. one way is to lie on a bench and, with your arms nearly locked out, bring a dumbbell or a plate from behind your head to above your face. i should do this more than i do.
treatment. heat & ice. going hot/cold speeds up recovery by drawing blood into that area. 20 mins hot / 5 cold. if you have a lot of inflammation for some reason, skip the hot and just ice it until it goes down. i have used this, also for other injuries.
fancy treatment. go to physio and get an electrical stimulator that flexes the muscles in the area. it's kinda like an Ipod with a battery unit and little electrods you stick to the area. it works on a timer, giving you shocks off and on.
haven't done this, but a firefighter at my gym with wicked medical coverage came in with one of these one day. i didn't know he had the thing on, he says "check this out" and puts my hand on the side of his torso. i'm wondering what the fuck then i feel his muscles tensing on and off a in regular pattern... trippy.
I've trained with a popped rib but only worked from the top. With the pain I felt, there is no way I could work guard, not even think about it. I had trouble sleeping and rolling over in bed. Also, make sure you wrap up your ribs all the time, even when you're at work. The reason why they take so long to heal is because you can't keep them still. When you breathe it moves, so try to wrap them up and tight and be very careful with everything you do.
I was rollin with a big fella and I don't really recall the action at the time but he basically ended up "plopping"(sitting) down on my rib cage. It took a good 6 weeks or better to heal up. I've broken my hand and it healed faster than this annoying injury. A few months later it happened again doing an activity outside of bjj and it took nearly as long to heal again. A very annoying and painful injury. It hurt to get up,breathe,turn my torso all kinds of movements are limited and not much you can do about it except for time will heal.