Rib cage pain

[jon.biarritz]

I spent the holidays surfing pretty much everyday, 2/3 hour sessions for 3 weeks. Sweet.

The only problem is, a spot under my right lower ribs got progressively more sensitive to pressure, to the point where it got so painful I couldn't surf and had trouble finding a non-painful position while sleeping. I stopped surfing 4 days ago and the pain is gradually going away.

I had the same prob last summer, too. Autumn with no problems but also didn't surf intensively more than 4 days in a row. So, so far it seems to happen when I surf for a couple of weeks without a day or two off.

Anyone else have the same problem? Is it just from overdoing it?

[Sillysausage]

I had a problem similar not long before christmas, not sure why but i couldn't paddle and found it hard to breath when i was surfing but went away after a couple of days. mighta been a blow from a night out or something daft but never had it before that or since...

[superfish]

I've also had a problem like that, last summer. It didn't go away for about 2 weeks, even when I stopped surfing. With my soccer season coming up, I went to the doctor, and he said it was bruised cartilage. If it hurts breathing deep, coughing and extending your arms in certain positions, it could be that. He also said it would not hurt to surf with it, it would just be painful.

[stuzzy07]

yeah happens to me every once in a while when i'm surfing consistantly, but usually goes away after a couple weeks without waves...like now, oh wait make that a month without waves!! I'd rather have the rib pain....

[drowningbitbybit]

Anyone else have the same problem? Is it just from overdoing it?

Yup. Standard thing. Just keep on surfing and eventually it goes away. Or failing that, a really thick wetsuit

I get it every spring when I move out of the steamer into boardshorts.

[jon.biarritz]

Thanks, guys. That's reassuring and correlates with what I found about it on the internet. Apparently Dane Reynolds had the same thing this summer and had to see doctors and take a break.

Kind of makes sense, looking at where the wax is on my wetsuit it's pretty clear where the weight pressure points are...

[billie_morini]

very nice photo, jon.biarritz. Thank you.

[themathteacher]

Normal, after 15 years surfing I still get the occasional sore ribs, but I just put up with it. At age 44 my back is my new source of soreness, but some tequila takes care of that.

[tree4]

Sometimes I wish my wife was a physiotherapist rather that an A&E nurse, to get a nice massage now and again after I over do it. As she is a casualty nurse I have be carrying in my leag or arm in a shopping bag before she'll look at me.

[esonscar]

Body pressure ding dude - suck it up and carry on ! .........

[jon.biarritz]

Yeah, six days off now and the pain has been subsiding pretty well, just a little soreness left. Back in the water starting Monday for at least five days and see how it goes. Decent conditions too, between 2 to 4 meters with 12 to 14 seconds' period, sunny and 10° C air 12° C water, should be pretty good.

[Sillysausage]

that looks class.

[RustyG]

sounds like a pulled intercostal muscle too me...i got a lot of those when i ran hurdles in track...its the muscle around your rib cage that helps you breathe...paddling motions really pull them easily if you arent in shape or just slightly tweak em

[Milo]

sounds like a pulled intercostal muscle too me...i got a lot of those when i ran hurdles in track...its the muscle around your rib cage that helps you breathe...paddling motions really pull them easily if you arent in shape or just slightly tweak em

Same here Rusty, i used to do long distance running and would get the occasional pain in that area. Yep get it from surfing too. Rest or don`t push it out there so hard, twisting the torso will only aggravate the problem. Can you change boards and do some mellow long boarding for a bit?,just an idea.

[jon.biarritz]

Thanks guys for the feedback, it helps keep things in perspective.

Last week I did five heavy days of surfing (four to five hours a day) and the pain came back hard on the fourth and fifth days. The surf was pretty big and even got epic last Friday (3 meters in Biarritz, maybe even 6/8 meters in Belharra where pros were doing tow-ins and videos) and I took a few hits to the rib cage and also just kept surfing, overriding the pain and overdoing it, which didn't help.

So at the end of the week I was in serious pain the first day off after, and stopped all surfing & training. But only three days later it thankfully subsided quickly again and I was able to get back in the pool and do yoga.

My plan is to continue training until Feb 1st doing swimming, yoga, weights/abs, boxing and indo board, and then surf another week and see how it goes.

Anybody else here doing yoga? My favorite yoga training videos are the ones by Rodney Yee that my brother in Seattle, who is a coach/sports trainer, turned me on to, particularly the "Yoga Conditioning for Athletes" DVD. Good workout with a peaceful narrative, beautiful setting in Maui and zen-like music.

[Milo]

Yes Jon, I do yoga for balance and allover flexibilite. Which at my age i need as much as pos. I do gen training with weights, no heavy weights anymore. Cycle and walking. But this is as i feel like these days, i do something at least 4 times a week.
But i listen to my body and ease off when i need to.
Your training routine seems heavy going. Take it easy bro, you don`t want an injury.

[jon.biarritz]

Thanks, Milo. My training is not as heavy as it sounds actually and I do only light weights, too. Yoga rocks.

[Pornstar]

The same thing has happended to me.
I came out of an intense flu.
I had been surfing 4 to 5 days a week before it... and since i didnt apreciate the cold mornings i decided to get in the gym during teh winter time and reduce my surfing to 3 days a week
But i think that i overdid it at the gym and i ended up with a horrible sting on the left side of the lower chest/ ribs area

I rested for a couple of days and the pain seemed to go away but all of a sudden in a surf session i couldnt even paddle or breathe properly i went to the doc and he said i had an inflamation of the intercostal muscle that had been partially caused by a soreness in the intercostal "nerve" that had been affected by the flu.

So he prescribed desinflamatory pills, pain pills that i aint taking, and some shots for the nerve thing.
All in all i am feeling better yat i wake up pretty sore from hurting the area while sleeping.

The doctor told me to not do excercise until the pain ceased.
I know that the best choice is too drop away from the gym and surfing for a couple of weeks till it goes away... yet i was in a roll in my surfig and just bought a new stick. Besides that i have gained a few pounds that i urgently need to drop.

I'll be sticking to the stationary bike and the climbing machine and i'll give it a try on saturday to see how i feel.

Lets give ourselves feedback so that we can see how things are going.

[crepuscular]

it's one of the thing that every surfer have to deal with, just like rash around the neck from wetsuit

[jon.biarritz]

Update: Been surfing five to six days a week since mid-Feb and the rib cage pain has gone away. All's well aside from the water being pretty cold. Best to all.