This blog is a detailed account of my expensive, painful journey through Medical Bureaucracy and how I managed to overcome the naysayers and diagnose myself. I hope to educate the medical masses and give those who suffered/suffer like I did/do hope.
I’ve always led an active lifestyle. After high school, I joined the military and, after being discharged (honorably), finished college. After serving my country and my community, I began a career in writing/law/law enforcement. I am a former boxer and, as a result of fighting, have suffered my share of chest/rib trauma. None of which appeared (to me) to be serious enough to go to a doctor/hospital. Apparently, I was wrong.
If this is your first visit, please go to the October archives, located at the right. My story begins there. If you need a good laugh (or a bad one) you can visit my other page at: www.babypoobarellah.com.
hi. i found your website. I have had bilateral flank/rib pain for 9 months. ct scans, ultrasounds, cystoscopy, mri of spine all were negative. I wonder if I have this slipping rib syndrome. I take motrin and ultram for pain. the pain is worse when sitting or lying down. It used to be very intermittent but now is become constant. i cant go through any more tests I am so disgusted. please let me know how your treatment is now going. thanks
Hello! I found your website. I too, suffer from Slipping Rib syndrome. I read your entire blog, and I actually saw Dr. Cavanaugh in Wisconsin and received surgery for bilateral slipping rib. I am recovering now. I’m the girl from New Hampshire that Dr. Undermann told you about. Please email me! I’d love to hear from you! kristymay_c@hotmail.com
I have fought a mysterious pain that seems to run along my lower ribline on my right side for years. At times there is a very specific spot that will be extremely painfull to touch - other times a bit hard to pinpoint. I end up sleeping in a chair a lot and have noticed more flairups after a night of doing this. Seems that, and lying down, stimulate the symptoms, walking usually helps relieve this pain. Pain gets very disruptive to my daily life and I too have chased many Dr’s to no positive end.
I would appreciate learning what you have found that seems to be a fix for this nasty problem. Thanks for the posts!
rmoss1@uisad.uis.edu
Well I am really surprised that you can write in such a “medical” way. Anyway I am happy for you. I am experiencing a similar problem for like 4 months now. my Doctor diagnosis was that one of the floating rib (I believe the 11th) was hitting my flank and had caused a small injury. The reason for that (according to my doctor) is that I lost too much weight and that probably caused some internal flesh relaxation.
I am on new medication for two weeks now… but I don’t feel like I am on the right track…
When I walk, I feel great… but sitting is what kills me (not even lying down).
Anyway… I’d love to here from you….(rtayyem@gmail.com)
Hi, I recently found the “collegiate swimmer” article after 15 months of pain and doctors who ignored me. Today, an awesome orthpaedic surgeon sat in his office with me and asked questions. Within 5 minutes, he suggested the slipping rib syndrome I had just read about.
He checked me with the hooking maneuver and X-rays, and then showed me that my 11th/12th ribs are much longer than normal. The ortho thinks injections will be necessary (and very possibly, surgery) as it’s gone on so long. But I will start 1st with a chiropractor (doc’s idea), in the hope of an easier fix. I’m glad someone is out there making this condition known–after eight doctors never mentioning this possibility, I had lost faith! Keep posting.
Hi everyone,
I’m hoping someone can help me. I just wrote Dr. Udermann and am still awaiting a reply. I don’t know what is wrong with me. I have horrible stabbing pains all over my ribcage, but by far the worst problem is that my upper back locks out of place, always to the left, in 2 segments. This pain is almost unbearable, and it leaves me unable to straighten up for hours. I have had many tests and it all looks normal, except for facet blocks which showed the problem levels to be T3-T6. For treatment i’ve had lidocaine injections, chiropractic, prolotherapy, rhizotomies, pt, and never blocks. Doctors don’t know what’s causing this instability, but a few have mentioned torn ligaments near the facet joints, or a displaced rib.They won’t operate unless they can see it, and for some reason, nothing can be found. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Julie,
Is it the front or rear of your ribcage? Left or right side? Can you be more specific about your upper back and how it locks out of place?
Hi,
I had blunt trauma to my right rib cage almost 4 years ago. The excruciating pain kept me going back to my useless doctor for relief. One time she was out and I had to see an osteopathic doc in same clinic. He sent me directly to the labs after noticing symptoms of extreme hyperthyroidism. I had been on the verge of Thyroid Storm with thyrotoxicosis. He put me on beta blockers and anti-thyroid drugs (whole nother story!) I have been through sheer hell with physical pain for the past almost 4 years…mainly due to the rib trauma which recurs every couple of weeks for anywhere from a week to two weeks with severe flank pain (kidneys are fine), spinal instability, inability to rise from a chair (except like a very crippled person), queasiness, weakness, fatigue, and some kind of weird catch in my interscapular area if I inadvertently bump my shoulder into a doorway or something. For two years, I had a spot on my back (interscapular area) which itched constantly! I developed something called Notalgia parasthetica (with hyperpigmentation)over the area that itched. Then it subsided, but the spot is still darker. This, I think was due to nerve compression. I am really afraid of having the hooking maneuver done because I have a certain degree of thyroid myopathy and I am afraid my spinal/thoracic muscles will spasm…as this has happened before from doctors and chiropractors. Is there any other way to dx this?? Also, does anyone know of a pain med that works, and that allows one to work a 40-50 hour work week?
In physical hell 50% of the time,
Bobbie Ingersoll
Hi everyone and Happy New Year!
My goodness! Finally found a site with real people experiencing the same “REAL” pain in the side.
My story:
49 yo male
5 years of grief!
Started on a flight back from New Orleans in 2001. Felt as though the window seat arm rest was digging into my right side.
Thinking back, I was an avid golfer (4 times a week) and I did experience some minor (what I thought) back spasms that I attributed to my swing. I also had a fall in which I landed fully on my front (rib cage). I was carrying things so I was unable to brace for the impact… It hurt at the time, winded me but I thought nothing of it as I recovered.
But the pain on my right side (between the lower right rib cage (T10, 11, 12) and my right hip (where you would put your hands on your hip in disgust!) started and has been with me for 5 ^$%$# years.
Well after:
2 MRI (Upper & Lower Spine), Abdominal CT, HIDA Test for Gallbladder, Upper GI and Lower GI, numerous X-Rays and a battery of other blood work etc. ALL Negative.
The MRIs showed slight disk herniations and some evidence of disk degeneration at T12/L1… The specialists I saw basically said that I should be healthy as a horse and that these “slight” findings shouldn’t be causing the pain I’m experiencing.
I have been through many sessions of physio (absolutely no help), an osteopath (who remarked how locked-up my spine was… from bracing)… little relief and weekly sessions with a decent, low-impact chiropractor. The chiro has noted costochronditis and hyper mobility in my right side floating ribs and adjusts accordingly. He has been the only one who believes its either or a combination of Thoracolumbar Joint Sydrome (problems with the 12th Thoracic joint and/or Slipping Rib Syndrome (clicks & movement).
I started with NSAIDS and other mild pain medications. I have resisted going for stronger pain meds as I found not much will alleviate the pain. Right now I’m just living with it.
The pain’s fun!… It moves around the area. Sometimes you feel like you have an ulcer; sometimes you have mid-back pain; sometimes lower back pain; hip pain but it always comes back to the 11th & 12th ribs (intercostal). If you push in in that area with your thumb and let go, you get that rebound pain… hard to describe.
Sitting is the most awful part of this… I fly, drive and sit in meetings hours on end… All I want to do is lay down and stretch out.
I cannot sleep very long on my back, nor can I dare to sleep on my right side. I have almost worn my welcome out with my left side (sleeping)!
I hope you can relate to some of this…
Take care…
Steve
what is your email address? i would like to ask you some questions?
thanks,
J
Wow, I think I have the same thing. I have yet to go to a doctor, because I know how it goes. Let’s get some X-rays, then a CT. Could be the colon, so lets have a colonoscopy, etc. etc.. Arrghh. Sounds like my pain isn’t as bad as some of you, but I have experienced a pain on my left side at the very bottom of my rib cage for about 4 years now. I sleep with my arm stretched out while laying on my side. I’ve often wondered if stretching our like that has placed pressure on my ribs. I try to tell people that it feels like I have a bruised or cracked rib that never healed (never had a cracked rib, but this is how I think it would feel; painful to press on, but you can live with it.) Could it be I have the same thing???
Wow, how relieving to find this and realize I’m not the only human being suffering with this awful condition. Mine is the result of a car accident from three years ago. I suffered from terrible upper back and neck spasms, took almost 3 years to heal from, then several months ago I started waking up with my ribs killing me from pain. I’d go downstairs and put heat on it and it would ease up. But one day just while doing laundry I felt a shooting pain in my rib on the right side, hurt to breathe in, hurt to do anything. Went to my chiropractor and she told me I had several displaced ribs. She gently set them back, I was sore the next day but iced and used Advil and felt fine for a couple of months. But then it came back and happens just about every week now despite the chiro treatments. So I went to the spine clinic at our local hospital and the doctor felt I would be a good candidate for prolotheraphy. She said my ligaments to the ribs had become lax from all the spasms after the accident and prolotherapy is suppose to help tighten the ligaments back up and hopefully keep them where they belong. THis is a very painful thing and changing my life so much. I have two kids I have always been active with, now I can’t even let them hug me hard. I’m a realtor and haven’t been in the office for a month and just let a fairly lucrative listing go because I’m so uncomfortable with the rib pain I can’t get out to the person’s house to meet with them and take photos, etc.
I can’t get the prolo treatments until May, that’s when the spine specialist had her first opening. So I have to linger like this until then….
Rose,
I considered Prolotherapy but couldn’t find a doctor in my area to do it until I found the one I’m going to now. What’s key here is that you DO NOT GIVE UP! Finding the right doctor takes time and there are ways to resolve your condition! This doctor was in my hometown all along and I kept over-looking him. I had a nerve block done this morning and so far, so good. Have you done anything else to resolve your condition?
Hello, for the past 2 1/2 years, I’ve had a persistent, dull pain by the lower right side of my ribcage. It is most noticeable when I’m sitting; it is not made worse by exercise but is made worse by stress — when I can feel my muscles in the region tensing. Also, I can regularly press on a certain point and generate a persistent
popping or clicking that feels like a muscle or ligament popping over and under the end of my lower rib. It is rarely if ever a sharp pain, but after 2+ years, it’s driving me crazy! Often wearing an elastic surgical wrap, which places a gentle but consistent pressure on the place, relieves the discomfort.
Actually, at the very beginning (over 2 years ago), I had a knot-like pain by my spine, but it has since traveled forward and manifests in the way I’ve described. I’ve been to two chiropractors, a pain management doctor who injected a steroid treatment into my spine, and an acupunturist (as well as several visits to my primary care doc). Nothing has helped. I’ve
also had a colonoscopy, which is all clear. From reading this website and others, it seems plausible that I have SRS. Do you agree? Any suggestions for treatment? Anyone have luck w/particular therapies, including “prolotherapy”?
For 6 months I have thought I was going mad. Ct and MRI , blood tests and the whole ball of wax. I am 33 and healthy , active and have a two year old. Last November I started experiencing horrid right side pain , at first I thought it was appendix. Ultrsounds said no, then pancreatitus , gallstones, intestinal contortion…all wrong . Have been on restrictive diets and activities. The pain was always worse at night , way worse when driving long distance or even short distances, I am in school for my degree and sitting in class became like torture for me. The more tests came back negative the crazier I felt , the more stressed out I got the worse it got. I stopped picking up my son, I was afraid I was pulling something. I have never heard any popping noise but have continuously told several doctors the pain seemed to be coming from my right rib , the one that floats underneath your ribcage.I was told I may have a post herpetic shingles! and was put on a diet and meds for this!
It does not hurt to put pressue , in fact it often helps , the more I move around the better it is …when I try to slow down in the evening it sometimes hurts so badly it makes my whole body shake like a dog, Yuck! and scary!
Today a doctor called me and told me he would like me to see a chiroprctor for this slipped rib syndrome. He said it may or may not work and he doesnt know for sure if this is what it is. I do not remember injuring myself at all?
I am glad to see the website here and this is the first time I have EVER blogged for any reason. It is good to see similar experiences in print.I would love to know how chiro worked for any of you? Treatments or suggestions for keeping the rib in place?Thanks. Lissa
John,
It definitely sounds like you have SRS! I don’t know much about Prolotherapy, nor do I know anyone who’s had it, but I would start conservatively, with a good Chiropractor.
Thanks for the response. I’ve tried chiropractors before, but then I hadn’t figured out a diagnosis at the time (assuming it is SRS, but this is the first time I’ve identified something where all the symptoms fit).
Lissa, I, too, find that the pain or discomfort is usually greatest when I am sitting for significant periods of time — at work, in the car, etc. And applying pressure to the area — with my elbow or heel of my hand, etc., often helps relieve it somewhat. The one thing that often helps me is wearing what I believe is called an elastic surgical binding. It’s something you can pick up for about $20 at any large drug store in the same aisle as they sell various back, knee, wrist braces, etc. It’s basically a 6-8″ wide piece of elastic, with velcro in the front, which wraps around your torso and can be worn under a shirt or sweater. I find that it keeps a mild but consistent pressure on the rib area and helps relieve the pain considerably. Not a cure, mind you — as soon as I take it off, the pain is back again — but it does relieve the symptoms.
I must say that while I’m frustrated to see that there doesn’t seem to be a straightforward cure for SRS, the one thing that is reassuring is concluding that my symptoms are unlikely to be linked to some larger, underlying disease or condition. There’s quite a few organs lying under those ribs!
Anyone know of exercises that might help?
having suffered a great deal from the lower rib pain to the degree I even could not work, and keeping the anatomical reason for this pain in mind I was surprised that keeping the area relatively immobile with support was not a recommendation from medical practitioners
I discussed it with my wife and she had the marvellous idea of using a lumbar support these are available from pharmacies in different sizes with velcro to make adjustments and we just applied it around the upper abdomen-lower ribs area to give support to the hypermobile painful rib and the benefit has been remarkable I only wear it during the day and i am relatively pain free,and even though I initially wore it at night also,I can now take it off at night but the benefit continues at night because I can now sleep through the night, without the pain I suffered before whenever I moved or changed position at night
I hope others can get the same benefit from this treatment without having to resort to more expensive and invasive treatments
I’m sitting here at 4 am in excrutiating pain and so thankful for this blog and the responses. I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hypermobility) about a year ago but the slipping rib syndrome really hit me full force last fall.
We’ve had a long winter with lots of snow and shoveling even a small amount sets it off. Even carrying in groceries will keep me up all night.
The pain is so bad now that it’s inflaming the nerve to the gallbladder and causing abdominal pain. I get an ultrasound next week to be sure there are no tumors, but my doctor is pretty confident it’s microtears from the slipping ribs that are causing the pain.
I am worst at night…I have to go to sleep propped up and the real pain starts between 1 and 4 am. I’m allergic to pain killers so have had to tough it out. The lack of sleep really gets me and totally disrupts my life.
I have found one chiropractor who has been able to give me relief but he’s out on medical leave and will probably be retiring soon. The others I’ve tried actually make it worse.
I’m going to try the bandages and belt and see if that helps. It’s so frustrating to have to give up activities I love to keep from aggravating this even more. Gardening, golf, horseback riding, etc are all triggers.
I appreciate all of the input about various treatments and wish you all a pain-free week.
Jan
Jan, good luck managing your pain. I do encourage you to try an elastic surgical binding. By adjusting the tightness via the velcro, I think you might find a degree of pressure that lessens the pain. You mention one chiropractor who helped and others who did not: my question is what, specifically, is the chiropractor doing that helps? I’ve been to a couple who haven’t and would like to know what to look or ask for, if I go to another…
John
Jan, have you looked into or considered surgery? I can’t imagine having to go through this without pain-killers. You sound like a very strong person!
Hi!
This is just awesome. I am having SRS and have been to MD jerkheads for 5 yrs, and i should have found this website many years ago. Anyway i have had to figure things out by myself, and i am finally close to have a surgery.
Anyway I have a fresh Case Report on Slipping Rib Syndrome with these details:
Two Years of Debilitating Pain in a Football Spearing Victim: Slipping Rib Syndrome
PETERSON, LAURIE L.1; CAVANAUGH, DANIEL G.2
1Department of Pediatrics, Marshfield Clinic-Chippewa Center, Chippewa Falls, WI; and
2Department of General Surgery, Marshfield Clinic-Eau Claire Center, Eau Claire, WI
Address for correspondence: Dr. Laurie L. Peterson, Department of Pediatrics, Marshfield Clinic-Chippewa Center, 2655 County Hwy. I, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729; E-mail: peterson.laurie@marshfieldclinic.org.
Submitted for publication May 2002.
Accepted for publication April 2003.
Please send me a mail (i am not sure what your name is)!
Best wishes
Fredrik from Norway
John & Poobarellah, thanks for the suggestions. I will try the surgical binding and talk to my rheumatologist next week about the other options. I’m extremely sensitive to anesthetics because of two other genetic problems, so surgery is always a last resort in our family for any issue.
My chiropractor uses a little device that looks like a plastic gun with a spring-loaded rubber tip. He can turn it down very low so that it just barely taps the problem ribs back into place. He is trained in the activator method which helps isolate the exact rib that’s out of place. I have been to other activator-trained chiropractors but they used the actual activator device which is much stronger and whent along the whole spine whacking all the ribheads with it thinking that would help - not! My good guy is on medical leave which is why I’m dealing with so much more pain than normal.
I’ve been doing a lot of stretching exercises this week. Pulling my shoulderblades forward and upward helps (kind of a shrugging motion with my shoulders up and away from my body), but exercises that pull them back makes it much worse. I’m a personal trainer but have had to give up even lighter free weights for now. There’s a really good DVD I have used called Y-Dan (a simple form of Tai-Chi) that I can tolerate when I’m not in severe pain. I do want to keep working to strengthen the muscles around the rib attachments but it can be tricky since exercising with microtears can create additional inflammation.
Jan
Found this:
http://www.hypermobility.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3246
Fredrik
I have bought myself a rib-belt after reading here and getting som ideas. It works perfect and i get reliefe when i use it from the SRS.
You can find one here:
http://www.coreproducts.com/product_category/back_ab_rib.asp
Fredrik from Norway
Hello, I have been searching all week for a site with this information, I was in a car accident about 3 weeks ago give or take, the driver lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a concrete median on the HWY, Well about an hour after the accident I started to have pain in my lower left side of my chest ‘my lower ribs’, but at the time it was bearable as if it was just a bruise. But as the last 3 weeks have passed it feels like one of my ribs may be fractured, but I believe I would have noticed this at the point of the accident.
I am trying to find answers and possible solutions before consulting a doctor which is what I hope to be my last resort. I believe my rib may have slipped I will explain the conditions below.
I have two very sore spots on my lower left rib cage, touching them causes pretty sharp pain. If I try to lay down the pain is extreme, same with trying to stand up. If I laugh, cough, or even reach for anything with my left arm it feels like someone is stabbing me in my left side. At some points of the day the pain is pretty dull if noticeable but usually at nights and throughout some times during the day the pain is extreme and seems as if it may have gotten worse the last two days.
I am just trying to find out if I can wait this one out and rest it off or will I have no choice but to go to the doctor.. Please if anyone can help feel free to email me james [at] artexstudios.com
James,
I too, hate going to doctors, but I think you should go. Use the horror stories within this blog to aid you in your decision. If I could do it all over again, I would have gone to a doctor!
I actually caved and went in 6am yesterday the pain was too extreme, I felt like my ribcage was about to burst open, very hard to explain the nightmare but when I tried to lay down it was hard to breathe and the pain was not going away so I did something even more stupid by trying to stand up really fast which caused me to have some kind of throbbing pain in my damaged rib area as if someone were stabbing me in two different spots and it left me yelling in pain.
The hospital gave me an x-ray and told me they did not see anything broken and my ‘organs’ seemed ok, I thought they could detect fractures and cracks in the rib cage but they told me they could not and even if it was fractured, cracked, or even broken there is nothing they could do about it except issue me pain meds. So I too recommend going even if there is not much they could do because there could be lung damage or even worse that should be detected as soon as possible, and the pain meds do help a lot.
Thanks very much for the reply!
I found a new chiropractor that uses the activator I mentioned earlier and had an adjustment a couple of weeks ago. This was after a week straight of total agony at night along with severe heartburn.
The relief was immediate. He found several “slipped” ribs and put them back in place. I could sleep through the night again, the abdominal pain was gone, and the heartburn disappeared. It lasted for a couple of weeks until I had to put my mother’s walker in and out of the car several times and lift some boxes. I’m going back this week to get my fix
I also saw my rheumatologist who confirmed the condition which in my case is caused by Ehlers-Danlos hypermobility syndrome. He recommended a rib brace, mild physical therapy to strengthen the muscles, and he prescribed a sheepskin mattress pad to soften the surface of the bed and help alleviate pressure on the ribs.
I did have an ultrasound to rule out any gallstones or gallbladder/pancreas/liver problems and everything was fine. I agree that it is important to get checked out to be sure there isn’t something else wrong.
This is some of the worst pain I’ve experienced in my life when the ribs are out of place but it could be dangerous to ignore other possibilities. Unfortunately if the other tests are negative, the medical profession tends to switch to the “all in your head” mode instead of looking a little further and considering the possiblity of nerve pain from slipping ribs causing the problem.
Jan
Jan,
I’m glad you’re finding relief!
I found a cure for this mysterious flank pain crap.I suffered for a year and a half with the usual negative results from abdominal CT scan and spine and rib x-rays.And my pain was becoming severe enough to disable me. All I know is this worked for me. If it works for you, put the check in the mail.. Here goes:
The pain is from sleep torsion. Inadvertently, while laying on your side with your knees together the shoulder not on the mattress is leaning forward ahead of the shoulder on the mattress. This twisting has a negative cumulative effect. Imagine a dishrag or wash cloth. You’re twisting with both hands,wringing this wash cloth dry.Where is the cloth tightest? Right! In the middle, just like your flank pain. Now this is just a guess, but if you are right handed the pain is on the right flank and if you are left handed the pain is likely on the left, although not always so.THE CURE: get a cushion, like the kind on the back of a sofa and pull it up tight between your knees. No, a pillow won’t work. It’s not thick enough. When you are laying on your side with your knees paired up, your knees should have a gap of two to four inches so they don’t touch. Now as you lay in bed practice laying on your side to go to sleep. Only, allow the leg resting on the mattress to lay slightly forward of the other knee. Not too far forward.You want to feel your butt and hip (on the side off the mattress)holding you back. like a counterweight. While the cushion remains between your legs practice shifting from laying on the left side to laying on the right side and then back to neutral with the cushion under your thighs and knees.Sleep like this for a week and your pain should subside to a mild ache. Good Luck, everyone!Questions? trigrgrip@macbrat.com
Thanks for the suggestion, Daniel. I’ll give it a try.
I gotta say, if you guys suffer like I do, I feel terrible for you. 2 years, 12 doctors, ive seen the best specialists in the country. I have had kidney stones in the past, and this is what my pain feels like, only its not. 16-18 and more hours a day. Doesnt matter if I am sitting standing, laying whatever. it hurts. sometimes it doesnt hurt. infrequently. cat scans, mris xrays bloodwork intercostal nerve blocks tens units, you name it, Ive tried it. Most recently I met with a surgeon because my gp had no more suggestions or people to refer me to so he thought maybe just cutting the nerves would work. The surgeon said it may not even work, Im lost. I feeel like there should be doctors that cant sleep at night knowing that people suffer so greatly from this. I never back down I work 50 hours a week and run my own business, but I cant find one damn doctor that can give me even a hint of what this is. Sometimes the pain is so bad i fall to my knees, or wake up out of deep sleep jumping violently, or throw up. Its god awful, I even had a colonoscopy just to make sure we werent missing anything. they have no clue. its unimaginable. sorry for rambling.
Justin, you’re right it is awful. I have never experienced pain like this because it is unrelenting. Most pain comes in waves and at least you get a little relief where you can doze for a few minutes or catch your breath, but my peak pain hours are 2 am to 5 am and I can howl it hurts so bad.
I had my second chiropractic adjustment with my new doctor last week. He spent more time looking for “slipped” ribs and worked on several more this than the first visit. It took about 3 days for the pain to diminish, but when it did I was actually able to sleep on my side a little and I could sleep through the night. I think the Activator Method is probably the only type that would really be effective since it pinpoints very specific spots without stressing neighboring tissue or vertebrae.
Hope you get some relief if you try the nerve ablation.
Jan
Hi,
My doc referred me in January of 2007 to a Physical Therapist after I showed her some info about Slipping Rib Syndrome in relation to my mystery flank pain of 4 years. I did several visits to the PT and I’ll be damned if I didn’t get some extended relief (as long as I don’t go more than 2 days not doing the exercises!)It’s like I’m on this little leash. The exercises include: sitting on the side of my bed with feet on the floor, knees spread a couple of feet, palms laying on lower sides of ribs and exerting some resistance inward with palms while exerting outward with 12 deep, slow breaths. This is followed by left hand bracing self by having it rest on bed on left side, then stretching right arm over head toward the left side (thereby stretching the flank area) and holding this for one full minutes. Alternate sides 3 to 5 times holding each for 1 minute. I watch the clock to do these. Then I lay on my back and bring one knee up toward the opposite shoulder for one minute and then alternate. Next, while still lying down, I turn toward my right, bringing right knee up and over to touch the bed while stretching my right arm straight out the opposite direction to touch the bed behind me. (hard to describe w/o a picture.) Then I alternate. Basically, it seems to stretch the flank areas. Then, last, I lay on my back and breathe into my abdomen (yogi style, my PT said) first, continuing to fill air into upper lungs, hold, then let air out in opposite order - 10 - 12 times.
I have no idea why or how these work, but they do, and since January, I have been ecstatically pain free 95% of the time, AS LONG AS I DO NOT GO MORE THAN 2 DAYS doing these exercises. If I do, the flank pain returns. Go figure! Hope this helps someone as much as it’s helped me.
Bobbie
Hi,
I have this awful habit of mailing emails, and THEN proof-reading them. Duh! What I meant to say was, “As long as I don’t go more than two days NOT doing the exercises!”
Bobbie
Hi,
I’ve read all of your stories and thank you for the great information. I have been suffering with SRS for over 10 years. I’ve experienced the same thing with MRIs, CTs, X-Rays, physio, chiro, etc. Nothing shows up any problems and no treatment helps. I’ve been doing my own research and have been learning more about prolotheraphy. I live in Canada and only three physicians know about this procedure in Toronto. I’m am scheduled to start this on Friday but I am very nervous about it. I had an ankle surgery that went horribly wrong and I had to have three surgeries to correct the damage done to nerves in my ankle. In fact, I had to have three major nerves resected from my lower leg. So, any medical procedure scares me to death considering the two years of excrutiating pain I went through as the result of a botched ankle surgery. It made my SRS seem so minor at the time.
Has anyone had prolotherapy for SRS and did it work? How painful is it? The risks seem fairly low but I thought this for my ankle too. I need some positive stories on this therapy.
Thanks for understanding. This blog is very helpful and this is my first time writing to one.
MMF
MMF:
Thanks. I don’t know much about Prolotherapy. I started looking into it, but couldn’t find a doctor who performs it where I live. I’d say it’s certainly worth trying, though!
Bobbie:
Thanks for that info. I’ll try these exercises.
thank God i found this website. someone out there please help me! i have been suffering from this pain for almost 5 years. it is the same thing that you are all describing to me. not one of my dr’s (i have seen a total of 9!) have ever mentioned SRS…but i’m certain i have it after reading through these posts. does anyone know of a surgeon or doctor in Texas that might be familiar with this syndrome and it’s treatment. if so, please email at iamczb@yahoo.com any info would be so greatly appreciated.
Hi. Wow, I didn’t realize so so many people were out there living in such pain!
My hip, pelvic bone, somewhere
Hubby says
I will add you to my prayers when praying for myself with this horrible pain..
Mine is a bit different (I think?) Started about a year ago, got worse until
now it has stayed. I am just now realizing that it isn’t just going to go away
and that something is really wrong and I need to find out what. I have had these
pains, but what is hurting so bad is my ass
inside there something is killing me! Left side, not my back at all, and now
radiating down my leg and even my foot hurts the past week. I was thinking
circulatory problem since I don’t remember doing anything to pull a muscel or
something. I was feeling great one day, doing all the things I do, and now like
another person said, can’t carry groceries without making it worse for days.
Even sex…did I say that? Crap, can’t imagine life without that
I should visit a chiropractor so I will try that as a first step. What I wanted to
know from you or anyone who may know…is how can your pancreas or liver cause
pains like these? Far as I know, no problems here with either and I hope it isn’t
disease related of course, but wondered. Thanks and I’ll be praying for miracles
for us all!
Has either ‘MMF’ who posted on June 20, or anyone else reading this blog actually tried prolotherapy? I’d love to hear/read some first hand accounts of patients who have tried this.
I haven’t been back for a while but I wanted to thank Bobbie for the exercises posted in June. I’ve been doing them for the past month and they make a HUGE difference. Sometimes I have to get up and do them in the middle of the night till I get some pain relief, but they do seem to get whatever is slipped out of place back where it belongs. I’ve even been able to sleep on my stomach for the first time in over a year.
Jan
sex amateur board amateur sex son
Can you have displaced rib syndrome with the upper two ribs? I’ve been having issues on the right side (dominant hand) and my PT says that my top two ribs are displaced. Been having achy pain and tightness for about 6 months. Writing, working on the computer and needlework all make it worse. Have always had back, neck and shoulder issues, but nothing this persistant before. It’s making my life miserable as needlework has always been my personal form of stress relief and now I can’t do that without pain. Strangely enough, things that you think would bother it don’t . Like running the sweeper.
I go to a D.O. and a chiropractor, they adjust me, I feel better for 2 or 3 days, but the ribs always slip back out. Can’t afford to go to the Dr. 3 times a week. Wish that I could figure out how to put them back myself. PT is teaching body mechanics, but not sure it is helping. PT thinks it’s tight muscles pulling the rib out of place and that correct posture and stretching will correct the problem.
Does anybody have any thoughts.
Just wanted to tell you that I also have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Type X and though I don’t have any ideas for you, I do sympathize.
hello everyone.
I’ve had slipping rib syndrome for about 7 years now. I have injured a ligament that holds the costovertebral joint @ Th.8 (between my shoulderblades). It happened in the gym on some kinda rowing machine.
after the injury I’ve experienced extreme muscle spasms for over a year around my trapezius, neck, shoulder area, etc..
I’ve seen over three dozen docs and none of them was able to give me a diagnosis except one chiropractor who discovered a whole bunch of trigger points in my back through palpation. he told me I have a blocked costovertebral joint at Th.8
getting my back cracked by a chiropractor gives me temporary relief, but my injured rib always pops back out of its original position due to the ligament weakness. I can pop my rib back into place with my right shoulderblade, but that kinda hurts.
I don’t know exactly which of the following ligaments are injured: Ligament costotransversarium laterale, ligament intertransversarium, ligament costotransversarium superius, ligament capitis costae radiatum)
all I know for sure is that at least one of those ligaments was completely or partially torn or its just chronically overstretched.
I’ve done a whole bunch of MRI’s, CT and x-rays. I’ve come to a point where I’ve gotten used to the stabbing pain in my upper back. It’s definitely not as painful as the constant muscle soreness. I’ve found out that my back muscles are trying to take over the function of the injured ligament(s) in order to stabilize the back and therefore they become chronically and extremely contracted.
Thorough back muscle massages help weakening my symptoms.
but if I want to heal the root of my problem, I will have to try PROLOTHERAPY. I will try it in a week or two and I will post some results if you guys are interested..
i wish you all the best!!!