Help! Strained intercostal muscle (ribs) with one week til our Tahoe trip!

[contesstant]

So, thanks to the wicked bronchitis that I had for two weeks, I have coughed myself into a pretty bad strain of an intercostal muscle. I'm pretty savvy with injury healing but am hoping to get some tips to try from all you smart ladies. 800mg of ibuprofen isn't doing much for the pain. I'm trying SO hard not to cough anymore, which isn't easy because I'm still a little congested. Heading to the chiropractor for a routine visit this afternoon and hoping for some help there (along with a cheap x-ray.) My primary care Dr. here is quite useless. I have the ribs wrapped at this point.

This trip is shaping up to be a disaster, and I'm so disappointed. Got new boots, new Lotta Luvs, haven't skied in two years, and now this. Of course, I also haven't been able to exercise much in two weeks when my plan was to hit it hard on the bike to get myself and my cardio system ready. I can still do high rep leg work without hurting the ribs (NO weights at all!) I'm staying off my horse, even though riding tends to loosen the core up. I can't risk having him make a sudden move. :(

So, any advice while I'm having my pity party? I haven't been icing because it seems to tighten up when I do, but I might be to the point where it's needed. If this keeps up, I'll be watching my daughter learn to ski and taking tons of pics and video instead of skiing myself.

 

[Pequenita]

I don't think there's much you can do for the intercostals except rest. But, that being said, if you're still keen on conditioning, I think it's a great opportunity to make sure that you're properly engaging your core by doing planks, forearm planks, and raising the opposite arm/leg while in plank/forearm plank. If you're doing them right (heels drawing behind you, upper body parallel to the floor, slant from hips to feet), the intercostals shouldn't be coming into play.

You could also do wall sits, and to add the core into it, march in place while doing a wall sit....again, if you're engaging the right muscles, your chest shouldn't come into play.

Proper engagement of the core is challenging for me, so these are my exercises of choice. Good luck, and heal quickly!

 

[Robyn]

I would also stay on the ibuprofen as it's anti-inflammatory properties work best with extended use.

I wouldn't worry too much about the lost exercise and only do things that don't cause any pain. And honestly most cardio gains are not made in in weeks, more like months of regular exercise.

 

[contesstant]

Well, these are the muscles down low around my lowest ribs, so planks are killer. I can barely even push off to get up out of bed.

Def going to push more ibuprofen and probably hit the doc up tomorrow for more. The military prescribes them in giant 800mg pills, which are the bomb and why I like to call them "8 bombs." :D I should have been more clear on the fitness. I'm already pretty fit, but wanted to up the anty a bit before our trip. For me, my base cardio is already there so it's easy for me to take it up a notch to prepare for something like a 5k or a big ski trip. Oy. Which is also why it's so frustrating to now be sidelined.

Will def add some wall sits in with my current lunges and squats.