Current medical status: 1 year 5 months ago I injured myself doing Army combatives (fighting/wrestling). My ribs were hurting afterwards and I had noticed my 8th rib was 1/2 - 1 inch inward of it's normal position. It is now slightly further in at the anterior than the 7th rib and about 1 inch inward of the 9th. I still have constant pain and any movement or strain that puts pressure or pulls on the ribs causes more pain. At times it is so bad that I can't move. If I put my fingers on the inside of the rib and pull outward slightly, there is a feeling of crepitus and a popping feeling, much like cracking your knuckles. When released, the rib goes back and makes another pop. The ends of the ribs feel bony and rigid as opposed to my left side which the ends feel smoother from the cartilage. I believe the cartilage separated on my right side and now I feel the ends of the ribs themselves. When relaxing my abdominal muscles, I can reach behind the ribs and grab a hard tissue that I believe to be the cartilage. I can move it forward to where it is on the ends of the ribs and that actually reduces the pain when it I am having the sharp pains (not the average constant pain). The tissue goes from the bottom of the 7th rib down to the 9th.


Current medical treatment: 800mg ibuprofin as needed, 700mg lidocaine pathces worn for 12 hours at a time.





Only a specialist-orthopedist can help you to diagnose and treat your health problem with your rib cage. I am sure there are orthopedists in Korea you can appeal to. For now, you can ask your doctor about taking painkillers.