Intercostal muscle strain recovery suggestions

[onemonk909]

I joined the forum because after some Google searching I found a lot of threads on here about intercostal muscle injuries. I just wanted to ask if anyone can suggest what specific exercises to avoid and which ones are still okay until complete recovery.

I pulled the intercostals on my right side (just under my armpit down along the ribs) five days ago, and the area still hurts. I didn't pull the muscles by weightlifting; I was holding something, almost dropped it, and apparently jerked/twisted my right arm in a savage motion as I tried to catch it. Instant pain in the right side of my chest and ribs. The pain subsided that day, but the upper ribs were sore to the touch. Same the next day. On the third day the pain appeared in full.

Specifically, lying down and getting up out of bed causes pain. Sneezing is sheer misery -- I got a cold right after the injury (like a bonus or something). I'm sore for nearly an hour after a sneeze.

Anyway, my question -- I know from the board I should take time off, as recovery is two weeks minimum. One thing I haven't found on here -- does that mean stop ALL activity? Ie just ice/heat/rest for two weeks? Or can I still do some things? Ultimately I just don't want to delay recovery or worsen the injury. I've realized pushups put strain on the area so I'll stop doing those (there goes my P90X routine). I'm not sure about pullups or dumbbell exercises. But some plyo jumping last night didn't hurt at all (frog jumps, knee tucks, etc). On the other hand, jogging/running hurt like hell, so I stopped.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...even if it's to just do nothing at all for a few weeks. It would drive me nuts, but I just want to heal as quickly as possible.

[DuracellBunny]

Take a very deep breath. How that feels is your problem. Most things you do will involve using that area directly, indirectly (stabilising) or increased breathing.

[Garage Rat]

Not a doctor here but from previous experience with the type of injury you describe it just don't do things that hurt it.These IMO take awhile to totally go away.
I think because there is possible cartilage involved in being injured.
Cartilage is not muscle and takes a long time to heal up.
A heating pad has helped me feel a little better getting the circulation going.
Ice did not really help.
Keep moving as much as possible like walking or some mild activity.
Like i mentioned above do exercises that don't hurt the effected area and maybe just light to moderate.
That's what worked for me personally,you might be different.

[onemonk909]

Thanks a lot for the responses! I'm taking it easy, just light work, and also broke out my wife's vintage water bottle, which seems to be helping a lot. I think the cold is also keeping me from full recovery...sneezes are torture, but I've found that compressing a pillow against my chest when I sneeze helps a LOT.

[scottw63]

My daughter did this playing volleyball. Doc, told her rest was the best thing for it. He also gave her some exercises to try to strengthen her muscles after she was feeling better. She took a week off and then started back light for the next week. After about 3 weeks she said she was fine. I'll look for the exercises he suggested and post them here. Oh yeah and he did recommend icing it initially. He also electoro muscle stimulation would help too, but we didn't go that route.

[paolo59]

It's been years ago...thankfully. Ha! I found that anything that put direct 'up/down' pressure on my torso was a bear. Even standing calf raises caused a lot of pain. You can certainly work around it, but do it gingerly. LOL It took a good 4 or 5 weeks before I was back to normal. I could do curls, seated leg extensions, some lighter cable work, and a variety of machines. But you do carefully feel your way around through it.

[JimmyJonny]

My daughter did this playing volleyball. Doc, told her rest was the best thing for it. He also gave her some exercises to try to strengthen her muscles after she was feeling better. She took a week off and then started back light for the next week. After about 3 weeks she said she was fine. I'll look for the exercises he suggested and post them here. Oh yeah and he did recommend icing it initially. He also electoro muscle stimulation would help too, but we didn't go that route.

^ This is pretty close to what I do. It happens to me atleast once a year and it sucks. It can last a few weeks or months unfortunately. You'll figure out what hurts and what feels ok. If you push to hard you will reinjure it and back to square one.

[sockitume]

I had an intercostal issue from trying to be He-Man on the leg press machine. Felt it pop and my knees hit my chest. It wasn't painful that day but the following week was rough. I wasn't able to even run for 10 days. I took 10 days off, then spent the next week doing light weight, and slowly worked up. Good news is that it doesn't bother me now. You'll be right in no time. Good luck!

[paolo59]

I had an intercostal issue from trying to be He-Man on the leg press machine. Felt it pop and my knees hit my chest. It wasn't painful that day but the following week was rough. I wasn't able to even run for 10 days. I took 10 days off, then spent the next week doing light weight, and slowly worked up. Good news is that it doesn't bother me now. You'll be right in no time. Good luck!

LOL I was doing the angled leg press as well. I was able to finish a complete leg workout after the incident. It really began to hurt the following day. Ha!

[sockitume]

LOL I was doing the angled leg press as well. I was able to finish a complete leg workout after the incident. It really began to hurt the following day. Ha!

For the record, I finished the rep. Ha!

[msutubaman]

About 5 weeks ago this happened on leg press for me, I've been low activity save for bartending since then, no time I the gym. Tried to warm. Up bench press and still insane pain. I'm thinking I need to stay on machines and excercises that don't require stabilization. Any pointers from anyone else?