Rib Stress Fracture

[Steve W]

Erg'd this AM but will need to take a break. Had a CT scan today, diagnosed with a rib stress fracture. Will row that marathon distance eventually but won't happen on the original schedule . Deep breathing hurts as does running, which will also require a short break. Plan to come back slowly, use a lower drag setting and should probably contact a coach or someone locally (st. Louis, MO area) to help with form & technique. An elliptical and recumbent exercise bike will help maintain fitness. Bummer but will attempt to make this a 'teachable moment'.

[markinnb]

sorry to hear about your injury. hope all goes well.

[heroesfitness]

I done the same thing playing cricket, dived on square and it was rock solid, took 3 weeks to stop hurting when breathing

[gregsmith01748]

This happened to me back in 2011. It took about 4 weeks to get back on the erg and I started with long, slow sessions (and low drag). I also avoided any low rate work for the first 3 or 4 weeks after I started back.

Good luck with the recovery.

[ArmandoChavezUNC]

Definitely take it easy coming back - a college teammate of mine had this and tried to come back too quickly and ended up with a stress fracture that took months and months to heal with constant pain. Better to take the time off and ease back into it.

[Steve W]

Thanks for your comments. The feedback is helpful to remind me to not attempt too quick of a comeback and as I progress, setting the drag lower. In attempting to work toward a marathon row, I had increased my drag factor to 130 thinking it would make me stronger (an oxymoron for this marathon runner) and improve PB times. After setting a half marathon PB on the higher drag, the consequence was the rib injury.
Word of caution, first visit was to a primary care doc. She was thinking soft tissue injury. Upon my urging, sent me for x-rays which were negative. Doc offered vicodin for the pain, which I declined. Was more interested in getting an accurate diagnosis & pursuing treatment than masking symptoms. Having read about common rowing injuries, no surprise that the fracture did not appear in x-rays.
Pain continued & went to chiropractor. He believed it to be a rib 'out of place', described as fairly common. After several adjustments, pain was no better. Requested and underwent a CAT scan, which clearly showed the fracture.
Sometimes educated health care pro's (not all) who are non-rowers or not familiar w/rowing injuries will, as they should, diagnose conservatively. Getting them to recognize & approve the scan took repeated advocacy on this patient's part. I think the main reason the imaging was finally requested was to appease my requests for it! It appears that docs at times have difficulty believing a fracture can occur from rowing.
I have started back to rowing at a drag factor of 105 (lower than my initial 118-120) and no PB's in the near future. Will cautiously participate at an easy pace in the Dog Days Challenge over the month of August. Thanks for your support.

[VeloMark]

Erg'd this AM but will need to take a break. Had a CT scan today, diagnosed with a rib stress fracture.

Hey Steve,

Ended up with a stress fracture many years ago working low stroke rate stuff. So, in addition to watching your DF, I'd also suggest you stay away from low stroke rate work for a little while. I was able to get back to erging within 3-4 weeks, but upping the pace, or dropping the rate below ~26, brought the pain right back. It was several months before I could do anything other than very easy paddles 2/3 times a week.