Introduction – What is a rib contusion?
A rib contusion is an extremely unpleasant clinical picture for the person concerned. There is a minor trauma to the bones and periosteum, which is basically harmless and can be treated conservatively, but often takes a long and painful course. Even if the bone is not broken and permanently damaged by a rib contusion, minor injuries to the skeleton, bone surface and periosteum can occur, which take a long time to heal. First of all, find out about general information on rib contusion at Rib contusion – What is behind it?
How long does a rib contusion last?
How long the individual healing phase of a rib contusion lasts is accordingly influenced by various factors and can only be generalized with difficulty. These factors include concomitant hematomas, periosteum injuries, cartilage damage or other minor concomitant injuries to the bone. In clinical diagnostics, the exact extent of rib contusion is rarely examined in detail, as the treatment would not differ.
For this reason, it is often not possible to clinically estimate the exact duration until healing. However, a healing phase of three to four weeks can be assumed. Depending on the age of the person affected, the extent of the injury, as well as the underlying disease, the duration can be significantly delayed and several months can pass until the patient is completely free of symptoms.
Duration of pain and symptoms of rib contusion
In the course of the healing phase of a rib contusion, the symptoms of the injury usually improve in different order. In addition to the coughing and breathing-related pain that is characteristic of rib contusion, in some cases there is bruising and swelling of the affected rib. The possible bruising and swelling usually heals much earlier.
Depending on the extent and therapy, these symptoms may not be visible within a week. If the rib contusion is caused by a coughing symptom and the cough continues, this can significantly delay the healing time. The pain is the main symptom of rib contusion and can be very severe, restrictive and protracted despite this comparatively harmless disease.
The periosteum in particular is very sensitive to pain and is affected in the case of rib bruising. Even if the bone is not broken, the periosteum can be injured and torn or can be tense and under pressure due to bone edema and bleeding. The pain then only subsides when the periosteum has regenerated or the bruise and bone edema have resorbed and reduced.
This can take several weeks, so that the pain can persist for weeks. However, pain should be reduced as much as possible with the help of painkillers to allow for any breathing restrictions, coughing and normal movements. In case of a slight rib contusion, the pain as well as the healing of the bruised bone can be overcome after only 2 weeks.
A rib contusion is considered to be cured when the pain has subsided even without taking pain-reducing medication. The symptoms should only be treated as long as they persist. This may take a different amount of time, depending on the age of the person affected, the extent of the injury and any influencing diseases. A complete resolution of the pain can be expected after three to four weeks. If the symptoms get worse over time, it is recommended that a doctor be consulted so that he or she can rule out any complications of rib bruising that are responsible for the symptoms.