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Intercostal strain
AcesAZ ·

I slightly strained my intercostal muscles a few days ago hitting balls. Anyways I was wondering how long should I rest it before playing again. Its still slightly sore, been icing it regualrly. Anything else I could do to speed up healing?
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+1! Intercostal tears are notoriously slow to heal. Sometimes they are mistaken for costal-chondral separations, which are also slow to heal as well. My doctor said he has seen cases that take 6-8 MONTHS to resolve completely.
I tore mine on the right side on a big swing follow through, after not properly warming up (more important as you age). I felt fine after a couple months when making normal movements and easy swings. Then I tore it again on a full driver swing. There is a significant amount of sudden rotational torsion on a big follow through that you might not see in everyday activities. The problem is scar tissue can shorten the fibers in that spot so it becomes the point where you run out of slack first on a big move. So it is vulnerable to reinjury.
Rest, massage, 20 min ice/ 20 min warm -on and off, anti inflamatories (naproxen), and easy stretching as soon you can tolerate it. Let pain be your guide on that but be aware that if you swing big you might find out you were not as healed or limber as you thought. Then you get to start all over.
After you recover- Warm up and stretch every time.
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the quickest way to recovery i found was to put pressure on the spots where it hurts for as long as you can then let go... repeat
the first time i strained it i just rested and it took almost a month before i was playing again.. the 2nd time i was alot more impaitient and kept putting pressure on it and i was playing again after 4-5 days
you have to put alot of pressure... like to the point where i had minor bruising along the ribcage..my hands would also ache from the pressure i was using... specifically i would put pressure on the spots where it hurt and sorta move my fingers along the rib that the muscle was on... or put pressure on the spots and then rotatate to stretch... hurts while doing it but when you let go there is a feelling of relief
not sure if you have the same thing i had... but mine was injured from a wierd follow thru move and it feels like you got punched in the side of the ribcage and hurts when you cough or laugh.. i think what i had was more of a muscle spasm in the intercostal and the pressure eventually freed the muscle from the spasm...
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I am having issues with the same injury.
I was at the range and was working on my driver distance and shape (hitting them well for once). There was about 4-5 guys standing behind me commenting on the distance after every shot. Being the tosser that I am I started to push my limits and got injured. I know I deserved it.
On Thursday I felt like it was clear so I thought Saturday I would hit a few 50% shots at the range, it was a bad idea, I have a lot of problems sleeping because of the pain which is much worse when laying down.
Any help for a quick recovery would be appreciated.
Thanks
Chris
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Just kidding.
With any injury, dont repeat the cause
Heat and Ice I heard helps. So does 800mg Ibuprofen.
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that being said, sorry to hear and take advice from your doctor.... not a message board
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Started with ice ,then progressed to heat.Swinging a golf club was not even a remote consideration ,while i was injured; getting in the correct position to sleep at night was important.
Coughing and sneezing were not fun
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Referee and coaches could hear it. Sounded like cracking your knuckles but really loud. Took about 2 month to heal and that was with therapy with the muscle electronic shock stimulator thingy.
Take it slow!!
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I found that swimming has been helping reduce the pain but unfortunately the last few days have not been pleasant weather.
I can't wait to get back on a course! This injury is terrible, crazy pain when you sleep and no golf.
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Still get slight pain when sleeping but much better than before.
Looking forward to comp on sat
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A physical therapist told me the best way to get that full turn without stretching the intercostal muscles is , as he said it, push out the tummy (get fat), let out half your breath and make a slow takeaway.
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I strained mine last year. Ended up taking a month off. Tiger Balm helps, too. That stuff worked miracles when I was into martial arts.
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When I first started feeling some side pressure at the range, it was minor and I continued practicing. It was at its worse a couple days later.
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I have read every single page that exists on the internet about these injuries during my down time, including just about every forum post that ever brought it up. I've even PMed a few posters on WRX who started injury topics. Here is what I've learned.
Almost every rib injury has the same symptoms and you are not going to be able to diagnose yourself. Intercostal strains are quite common in sports like golf and rowing, but it turns out it is the most over/misdiagnosed injury in these sports too. It's just as likely you have a fracture (even without other trauma) or dislocated ribs (subluxation). Both are more common than people realize. You do not want to be stretching a rib that is cracked, and anti inflammatory actually slows down bone healing. Your best bet is to just suck it up and let whatever it is heal naturally.
The good news is almost every rib injury just requires rest to get better, even the worst ones that can last months. The bad news is, because of this most doctors won't even bother to find the real issue, or will just guess and tell you to rest it. I had quite a few doctors even tell me there is nothing they can do to help me, so they won't even schedule me an appointment.
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Good advice & insight
all I can add is
best massages, some sports specialized at chiropractors who will get you back into shape for golf and make it so you have to visit them less often over time
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Man ..this happened to me today ! Took a hard swing through some deep , gnarly rough and felt a stabbing "pop/spasm" in left side of back/ribcage! Tried to swing after it and couldn't. I have a round of golf at an exclusive private club that I've been looking forward to play , in 18 days . Feel like I took massive karate chops to side of the ribs .
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Ditto.... on range yesterday..... big driver swing and 'crack/pop.' ..... Kind of a weird sensation..... and stupid on my part because I was nursing a mild strain and thought I was ready to go. One reads about the three categories of muscle strain and the 'pop' of a muscle is associated with a grade 3 strain (most severe) type of muscle injury. But other conditions associated with grade 3 aren't present. Conditions like bruising, loss of use or function of what muscle is attached to, bruising, swelling and possible visible deformation in the injured area. In my case, I heard a pop or crack, felt a sharp pain, and now have what feels like a normal muscle strain or pull. No other visible symptoms. And the description/location matches perfectly with intercostal description. Guess I just ice/heat it and lay off everything. Not sure what more I'd learn by going to Dr.
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had it.... rest it like any muscle strain. Not much doc can do. Oh and warm up before playin like gentle sit up motions...
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