earlier this week I hit my rib and had sharp pain immediately afterwards. it hurt to breathe, sit up, lay down, and to cough, but the pain wasn t intense enough that I couldn t function. the pain is still there but now I have a lump where I injured it. I ran my hand across the bottom and the top of the rib and it seems to be on both side. this week I started a job where I clean out crawl spaces under houses and I have been pushing through the pain. i guess my questions are how can i tell it i bruised, fractured, or broke my rib and what is that lump on my rib, i am worried that with my job i may have broken my rib and it is laying on top of one another, but on the other hand i assume i would be unable to even move if that were the case please help
Hi, Thanks for your query. From description, it seems to be soft tissue injury to chest. Lump might be due to hematoma formation(collection of blood). You need an x-ray to rule out any bony injury. I suggest you to consult an orthopaedician nearby for a detailed examination. You may get the X-ray of the area affected under his/her guidance. Beside icing and elevating it, you can take anti-inflammatory Chat Doctor. I do hope that you have found something helpful, and I will be glad to answer any further query. Take care