Leg Press = Broken Rib?

[bwc]

After doing Squats, I was doing Leg Presses last week, moderately heavy with good form. Out of nowhere on my 3rd set, 6th rep, I felt and heard a "snap" in my lower left rib cage. Not painful, felt like a slight cramp.

I did 2 more reps and could feel something was wrong so I stopped to prevent further damage. I haven't trained since, waiting for it to go away. It's not too painful I only feel it when I "lean" on that part of my body and when I wake up there's some pain. I can't do a crunch without it hurting.

Anyone experience or seen this happen before?

Talked to someone more experienced and he said "that's why I never go too low doing Leg Presses and maybe it's fractured but it doesn't seem to bother you too much so it probably isn't." I was not going any lower than I normally do.

I would go for xray but I don't have insurance right now and besides they can't do anything for it either way so in my mind it's not worth getting one.

thanks in advance

[dexterium]

Need to go to the doctor man. We aren't doctors :P

[TheDiplomats]

I think your diagnosis of a cracked/fractured rib would be correct. If you aren't going to the doctor, then I'd recommend avoiding any exercises inside that area until it is no longer tender/painful to use.

You are correct though. Even if you go to the doctor and they tell you that your rib is bruised, cracked, or broken; they will just give you pain meds. The only real problem is if the rib is dislocated which it is clearly not.

[Exod]

I actually had something similar happen. I didn't hear a crack and didn't realize I had damaged my ribs until next time I tried using the leg press and it hurt just to have my knees touching my ribs. I just layed off the leg press for 3-4weeks and resumed slowly.

[vegasdsm]

i had a cracked rib, kept workin out for 2 weeks... coughed on a friday night and snapped the rib, as well as tore my oblique muscle..

after having 12+ hours of severe muscle spasms of my abs/obliques and lat muscle, i was rushed to the emergency room...

i havent lifted any weight in over 30 days, it really sux....

i've been off muscle relaxers and pain killers for 20 days.

pain is tolerable, however, rest is the only way to repair cracked/broken ribs..

[anuheakane]

About 2 weeks ago I had the exact same situation - Squat first, then Leg press, then something snapped on my rib, too. It got more noticably painful the following week.

Dr. did X-ray and didn't see any fracture. She recommended taking higher dose of ibuprofen and lay off lifting until it goes away. Icyhot and Flexall seem to help.

Around the same time I may have injured rotator cuff slightly...quite disappointing that I can't lift (been bluking) or surf as usual. Hopefully it'll go away soon. Bros, I hear that frustration of not being able to workout!

[jamesh23]

dont worry about it, unless it punctured your lung lol in that case you would cough up blood i fractured mine about 5 weeks ago, nd it would hurt when i woke up and hurt if i leaned to that side or got hit there or squeezed, i went to the doc, nd he told me it prolly was broken, nd i could get an xray if i wanted but it woudl be a waste of time cuz they cant do anything anyway, and like 4 weeks later it was fine it didnt hurt anymore idk if it was broken or what.

[tomterp]

go to a doctor

[brettbags]

Yeah, definetly see a doctor, you wouldn't want the bone healing in a bad position. And drink more milk lol.

[dieeiervonsatan]

Need any other reasons not to leg presses.

Squats, OH squats, front squats, lounges.... any compound movenment with a bar > machines.

[prolificdavid]

Something similar to this happened to me this morning Doing squats, down low and I heard a pop from the left ribs almost like a loud knuckle cracking. Not sure if it's a rib or a serratus pull (if such a thing is likely) or what. Right now (four hours later) it only gives a twinge if I bend toward it, so maybe I'll try my next workout and hopefully things'll be okay and I don't have to lay out. Right now it feels manageable.

*crosses fingers*

[WiliamBurkowitz]

Most likely it is not fractured/broken. I dont see how your rib coupld possibly fracture doing squats and leg presses.

Most likely it is the mucle around it that was damaged.

The only thing you can do is rest for 2 months for it to go away.

I sprained my rib not too long ago sparring with a friend. and it was a bitch.. fukin thing didnt fully heal for like 3 months.

I went to the doc after a few days and he said that the only thing that would prevent me from working out is the pain, but that it was up to me. There was no serious damage done.

Go to the doc anyway.

[prolificdavid]

I'm guessing that, in the future, warm ups should include some light pullovers or something.

I do stretch before anything, ride the bike a bit to get the temperature up, and then have warm up sets before any early work sets.

This was during the last work set, and I still got in two more reps without difficulty so much as just surprise. We'll see what happens during the next workout; then I'll decide about rest.

[prolificdavid]

Doing a Google search led me back to this thread, so I figured I'd post the update.

Yeah -- turned out I have a fractured rib. I continued workouts after this July episode and August 25 was lifting and heard that knuckle-cracking sound again from the left rib area. This time, there was real pain and I couldn't continue. Got some X-rays a few days later and, yep, fractured 8th rib.

I'm supposed to get another X-ray after four weeks, and it's been three weeks now and it's still uncomfortable: hard to find a sleeping position, sitting in slightly off positions to compensate has made my back start hurting, etc. And laying off exercise really sucks. I'm taking extra calcium, I'm doing the breathing exercises, but there doesn't really seem to be much to do except wait it out.

[nike103103]

I had something like this happen twice! The first time I woke up and it felt like I had a cramp in my side, it didnt hurt, it was just a nusence. After a while it got worse and then I couldnt even lift. I laid of the liftin for a few months and it got better, than about a year after the same thing! I felt a cramp, and I was doing side laterial raises on the cables and "pop". It hurt! I couldn't breath in all the way and there was a hard lump on my ribs. I went to the doc and got an x-ray. He said there was nothing wrong, huh? I never found out what has happened because the doc couldn't find anything wrong so I am still baffled to this day : /

[prolificdavid]

That sounds about right. But if the X-ray didn't show a fractured rib, it might've been an intercostal strain. But, yeah -- it sucks. And you don't realize how much you use your torso until it's injured.

[cgh]

How the hell does a rib break doing leg excersizes?

[gjohnson5]

You are doing leg presses with the back pad raised too high
People do that to make it look like they are lifting more weight

Lower the angle on the back pad so your torso won't be so compressed in the leg press...

After doing Squats, I was doing Leg Presses last week, moderately heavy with good form. Out of nowhere on my 3rd set, 6th rep, I felt and heard a "snap" in my lower left rib cage. Not painful, felt like a slight cramp.

I did 2 more reps and could feel something was wrong so I stopped to prevent further damage. I haven't trained since, waiting for it to go away. It's not too painful I only feel it when I "lean" on that part of my body and when I wake up there's some pain. I can't do a crunch without it hurting.

Anyone experience or seen this happen before?

Talked to someone more experienced and he said "that's why I never go too low doing Leg Presses and maybe it's fractured but it doesn't seem to bother you too much so it probably isn't." I was not going any lower than I normally do.

I would go for xray but I don't have insurance right now and besides they can't do anything for it either way so in my mind it's not worth getting one.

thanks in advance

[prolificdavid]

Me -- I was doing squats. Took too big a breath or something. It wasn't planned.

[Mannycj]

I was doing the leg press with moderate weight and heard a pop and discomfort. I slowed a bit but finished my reps. I finished my entire work out with a sore left side. It felt as if my rib got caught or pushed against something and thats when I felt and heard the pop. It's not too painful only when I put pressure, if I try to do a regular sit-up, or when I take really deep breaths. I'm going to the doctors tomorrow for x-rays. More than likely she'll take the x-rays and then give me some pain meds and some advise. But at least it's peace of mind. It's kinda weird though how everyone on here had the pop on the same left side.

[dmlonghorn]

...just happened to me yesterday, leg press machine, final set.

Went down just a tad bit further than normal with moderate/heavy weight and felt a very distinct snap/pop along the bottom rib line on my left side. The pain was immediate and somewhat severe, however, that initial pain subsided rather quickly and was replaced by a dull "nuisance" type pain. I was able to continue my leg workout with moderate but tollerable discomfort.

Was not able to sleep on that side at all, too much pain.

I worked out back and shoulders today, again, with tollerable discomfort.

I've had broken ribs before and what I'm experiencing now is very similar. From what I understand, not much can be done except taking it easy and managing the pain...

This sucks.

[2write]

Hi bwc, prolificdavid, nike103103 and dmlonghorn


Could you consult a trainer or your doctor about wrong breathing possibly causing these problems ?

I think the inhale and exhale needs careful timing during heavy or even medium weights.

So maybe/ possibly your injuries which are similar may have been due to lifting/ pushing weights while not having the precise breathing coordination.




Just a theory - hence do ask your trainer/ doctor if this could have been a reason for the pain/ rib injury

[braindx]

May not be broken rib.. could be that it subluxed near the spine.

I would still get it checked out by a doc though.

[dmlonghorn]

Hi bwc, prolificdavid, nike103103 and dmlonghorn


Could you consult a trainer or your doctor about wrong breathing possibly causing these problems ?

I think the inhale and exhale needs careful timing during heavy or even medium weights.

So maybe/ possibly your injuries which are similar may have been due to lifting/ pushing weights while not having the precise breathing coordination.




Just a theory - hence do ask your trainer/ doctor if this could have been a reason for the pain/ rib injury

I was thinking something similar as well, possibly a combination of improper breathing, allowing the knees to get too close to the chest and the amount of weight.

If I remember correctly, I think I had my lungs full of air and did not exhale when lifting the weight.

[MrMostly]

I just did the same thing today.
As gjohnson5 mentioned that a factor might be that the back was set too far upright. That rings pretty true since I did one set to warm up but then while I was putting on a couple extra plates, I also moved the back to sit more upright.
This was at the end of my workout and I was just trying to burn off some extra energy after my cardio. I had done a bunch of Dead Lifts before and my back was acheing so I really just wanted something "safe". I usually don't even use that machine.
I was using only moderate weight and planned on doing 4 sets of 15-20 reps. of rapid, ballistic movements trying to go as deep as possible.

It feels to me like I strained the ligaments that hold the floating rib in place. It will likely be sore for a good long time.

[dmlonghorn]

I just did the same thing today.
As gjohnson5 mentioned that a factor might be that the back was set too far upright. That rings pretty true since I did one set to warm up but then while I was putting on a couple extra plates, I also moved the back to sit more upright.
This was at the end of my workout and I was just trying to burn off some extra energy after my cardio. I had done a bunch of Dead Lifts before and my back was acheing so I really just wanted something "safe". I usually don't even use that machine.
I was using only moderate weight and planned on doing 4 sets of 15-20 reps. of rapid, ballistic movements trying to go as deep as possible.

It feels to me like I strained the ligaments that hold the floating rib in place. It will likely be sore for a good long time.

I monitored my progress and didn't begin feeling relief until day 14, where I could finally at least turn slightly to that side to sleep. It wasn't until day 18 until I could fully sleep on that side and day 21 until I was 100%. But during weeks 1-2, it definately felt like it was getting worse... eventually it came around.

I was able to continue my workouts with various modifications.

I'm removing seated leg press from my routine all together. I don't know the exact formula that caused the injury, but it's certainly not worth the risk of a re-occurence.

Good luck.

[umop]

I appreciate everyone writing about their similar experiences on here. I had the same experience yesterday as well. Leg Press, moderate to low weight, going down quite far (knees close to my chest), and had a pop on my left lower ribcage with no pain. My lungs were full of air in order to exhale during the lift (which was advice that I've heard occasionally on other workouts). I feel some discomfort, but generally don't feel too bad aside from being cautious. I did leg-curls afterwards, and a small shock of pain hit the injured area on the first one, so I discontinued. For kicks, I tried one on the right side, and it did not hurt at all.

I am lousy at doing squats, so I was attempting to build up some muscle without risking poor form by using a machine, which I assumed was built for form. The back was not adjustable (I don't believe). From what I've read here, it looks as though there are several possible factors:

1. Breathing needs to be precise for leg-presses. I don't know what it is, but I presume I was probably doing it wrong.
2. Depth of squat needs to be limited. I don't know this either, but it seems to be a theme in this thread, and was certainly true in my situation. I was following advice of a friend who is also a personal trainer by going so low, so this may be widespread misinformation
3. A warmup should occur before going into your known max, as well as stretches. I don't know what stretches are important for leg-presses or squats. I jumped right into 180lbs (45 + 45 x 2) for my first set because that is what I had done during my last workout (the previous time, starting with 90 (45 x 2) and realizing that was too light). I did minimal stretching.

One note here: I am seeing two situations. First, there are people who have confirmed with x-rays that they have indeed broken a rib, but I also remember seeing at least one post of someone who confirmed with x-ray that they did not break a rib, though they experienced similar symptoms. Personally, I'm nervous about this scenario since I don't immediately see a likely connection from leg curls to irritating the rib-area. Either way, if I don't procrastinate and end up having this checked out, I'll post something back here.

[beltshumeltz]

Similar story here, pretty sore left lower rib, but from squatting, using what I hope is a close enough approximation of Mark Rippetoe's instruction. But I will continue squatting, work around the injury. I've learned that injuries a part of the territory of lifting and I prefer to risk minor rib injuries than a back injury from breathing on the way up or doing partial squats. Hopefully I'll get strong enough to mostly avoid this type of injury again...

I was wearing a 4" 13mm inzer lever belt which I thought was the culprit until I started reading up online. The fact that it happens to everyone on the left rib, leg pressing or squatting, with or without belts, probably eliminates my belt as the culprit.

I do think it is possible that it happened to me due to bad form, I think I may let my upper torso crumble upon myself at the bottom of a squat. Not sure though.

[omsata]

I don't get it.. how can someone fracture\break his rib doing leg presses?
I mean, the leg tray didn't crash on you nor your knees hit your ribs, out of nowhere you just heard a 'pop'?
this is weird, you really should see a doctor

[BeardedStud]

This happened to me yesterday, and it still hurts. It aches, actually.

I was going heavy on the cybex leg press 6 plates each side and then I felt the ache pursuing me throughout my workout afterwards, its on the LEFT side by the way (why is everyones always on the left, from the posts I have read??)....it's really worrying me because I can feel it sort of protruding out my abdomen (not the rib, just some muscle I think) on the left side as to when compared to my right side.

It's on the lower rip cage part as well, does anyone know what to do?