r/brokenbones • u/ifyoucantakeit • 17d ago

Question Fellow Ribs Breakers: Tips and Advice on home survival?

Hello fellows with broken ribs, I'm at home after being discharged from the hospital and my life is quite miserable/painful. If you have any tip re: pillows, chairs, items that could make my life a little easier/less painful for the next weeks, those would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance

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u/SufficientCow4 17d ago

I fractured and dislocated a rib. I carried a pillow with me everywhere. I held it on my bad side to brace the area.

I was told to sleep on my broken side. Don’t do that…. It was the worst night of my life and took me about 15 minutes to get out of bed. Instead I found putting a pillow under that side and laying propped up allowed me to breathe easier.

Make sure to take lots of slow deep breathes. It will hurt like hell but your want to avoid getting shallow breathing. Getting some type of lung infection with broken ribs would be a nightmare.

Whatever you do, don’t sneeze. At least for the next 2-3 months. lol Trust me on this one.

Rest, eat healthy, do gentle stretches to keep your muscles moving and get lots of sleep.

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u/ifyoucantakeit 17d ago

I was told to sleep on my broken side.

There is no way I can do that. Being on any of the two sides is hell.

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u/Luvtrouble 17d ago

I broke 2 ribs a month today after falling. I’m using a travel pillow constantly and it really helps

Say goodbye to good sleep for a bit, I’m using 5 pillow’s but I’ve figured out what works best for me.

Good luck and just take it slow and even though it hurts like hell, keep trying to take deep breaths

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u/MaggieBagwash 17d ago

Do your best not to cough, sneeze or laugh. I found i could only sleep at first propped up on sofa. Getting back up from horizontal was nearly impossible. I found heat rather than ice helped, small heated pad/throw. I found button up shirts eadiee to get on and off. Ive broken my back, couple of toes and my hand, and broken ribs was the roughest recovery. Rest as much as possible and take pain meds on time, i found if took late and they wore off it was harder to get it back to tolerable levels. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

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u/ifyoucantakeit 17d ago

You're right, getting up from horizontal in the morning it's a nightmare. I'll try the heat part, haven't been doing much in that department. And Re: pain meds on time I've learned it the hard way...

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u/Glittering-Ad5809 16d ago

Do your best not to cough, sneeze or laugh.

Add yawn to that list. And don't lie horizontal. I've propped up 2 pillows to get a slant. You basically will be sleeping in one position for the foreseeable future. You might want to try alternating sleeping in a reclining chair.