Duration of healing of a rib contusion

Exactly how long the symptoms last always depends on the severity of the bruise. In the case of slight rib bruises, the symptoms can improve considerably after about two weeks. However, if you have suffered a severe rib bruise, the pain can last up to eight weeks.

Nevertheless, it must be said that rib bruising is a rather harmless disease, which in most cases heals without intervention. However, if one would like to speed up the healing process a little, there are a few possibilities which will be explained in the following. First of all, one should definitely rule out that it is really only a bruise and not a fracture.

For this purpose you should consult your doctor, it can be determined relatively safely with an X-ray in connection with the clinical examination. You should always try to maintain normal breathing (i.e. not to breathe too shallowly or with increased breathing rate), but this is often difficult due to the pain. If breathing is restricted, pneumonia may occur in rare cases as a complication, so adequate pain therapy is first of all necessary.

In this case, one can resort to the usual painkillers such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or diclofenac, but one should also consult one’s physician briefly about which painkiller is best suited. Aspirin© is not suitable, as it interferes with blood coagulation by blocking the blood platelets, which can lead to further bruising.

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