I had an accident on my e-bike today that left we with some excruciating pain in my chest. The pain is extremely similar to the pain I experienced about 10 years ago when I bruised one of my ribs. I went to the hospital that time, waited in the ER for over 5 hours, then had x-rays performed, and was finally diagnosed with a bruised rib, for which there was no treatment plan. That experience totaled about 9 hours at the ER.

I'm very tempted to just accept this condition as a bruised rib, like before.

Am I making a mistake? What should I look out for - what might indicate that my condition is something different, or something that might require attention?

Thanks for any advice ya'll might have.

If'n it's bothering you enough that ya got's to ask, you should be asking the doctor.

https://medicalxpress.com/news...dangerous-heart.html

Hope it's a nothing thing.

Excruciating pain in chest = medical attention

There are alternates to the ER but I suspect they will error on the side of caution and send you to the ER.

It could be a cracked rib(s). Be glad you didn't fracture your hip socket like I did.

ERs suck, but go anyway to know for sure. We need to support our local hospitals.

Better safe than sorry.

we have some free standing emergency room doc ina box things here in. TX, turns out they are cheaper than the real ER.

If you’re not sure it’s a bruised/broken rib then go see the doc

Chest injuries are not to be taken lightly. You don't have x-rays eyes. Don't assume anything. Go get evaluated appropriately.

I'd hate for you to wake up dead. Go take your medicine at the ER.

What the monkey said. Excruciating chest pain (that doesn't subside) = immediate medical attention to r/o PE (pulmonary embolism), MI, tension pneumothorax. I won't need to say that all of those are bad. Really bad.

Can’t you go to urgent care facility?

My insurance allows you to phone a nurse or even an actual doctor.

Don’t have chest pains on a Friday or Saturday night in our area. The ER’s fill up with drug seekers were had no luck finding illegal drugs prior to the weekend. Apparently it’s unwritten law the druggies have to party on weekends. Probably doesn’t help your wait time in your area either. That said, I would get that chest checked. If it were a 9 hour wait I’d go to a different ER that had enough sense and manpower to give everyone timely help. In Knoxville, hospital have resorted to advertising their real time wait times on billboards. ER for me is a different story. I have the VA for which I’m extremely grateful but if I have an emergency I either drive 3 hours to a VA ER or chance going to a private Hosp ER and if it’s a life threatening emergency the VA ‘might’ reimburse, might.

Cracked ribs that puncture lungs are not pleasant. I empathize with your not wanting the 9 hour merry go round, but I'd say go get a look.

what’s an “e-bike” and what do you mean when you say “accident”....understanding the mechanism of injury would be my first questions as I have no clear idea what you mean.
Then it becomes a game of medical detective work for me...age, history and such with some very specific questions. Example: If the pain is reproducible such as getting worse with a deep breath or palpating you can rule out most cardiac problems. need more info...and like the rest have said, your health is worth a 9 hour ER visit...just sayin

If I know that I’ll be in a waiting room I make sure that my Kindle is loaded with a few books and just make the best of the situation.

quote:

Originally posted by cgode:
what’s an “e-bike” and what do you mean when you say “accident”....understanding the mechanism of injury would be my first questions as I have no clear idea what you mean.
Then it becomes a game of medical detective work for me...age, history and such with some very specific questions. Example: If the pain is reproducible such as getting worse with a deep breath or palpating you can rule out most cardiac problems. need more info...and like the rest have said, your health is worth a 9 hour ER visit...just sayin

An e-bike is a bicycle with an electric motor attached. I was climbing a very steep hill, and lost control, landed on my back. I'm 60 years old, and the pain is EXACTLY like when I bruised my rib 10 years ago. What I mean is, if I position myself just right, I have no pain. But, the slightest wrong move, and the pain cuts through me like a knife.

Thanks for your help!

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:

quote:

Originally posted by cgode:
what’s an “e-bike” and what do you mean when you say “accident”....understanding the mechanism of injury would be my first questions as I have no clear idea what you mean.
Then it becomes a game of medical detective work for me...age, history and such with some very specific questions. Example: If the pain is reproducible such as getting worse with a deep breath or palpating you can rule out most cardiac problems. need more info...and like the rest have said, your health is worth a 9 hour ER visit...just sayin

An e-bike is a bicycle with an electric motor attached. I was climbing a very steep hill, and lost control, landed on my back. I'm 60 years old, and the pain is EXACTLY like when I bruised my rib 10 years ago. What I mean is, if I position myself just right, I have no pain. But, the slightest wrong move, and the pain cuts through me like a knife.

Thanks for your help!

so at the very least it’s musculoskeletal, in english...rib fracture or just contused rib/muscles...at the young age of 60 and the mechanism you need to be mindful of any increase of difficulty breathing...I’m sure it hurts to take a deep breath yes...more specifically an increase difficulty just sitting there trying to be comfortable...could be a sign of much more serious things that you just don’t want to mess with...punctured lung or cardiac tamponade are two things that can kill you quickly but sometimes start off slow and and with vague symptoms...so don’t fuck around if breathing becomes difficult...don’t drive yourself to the ER if that happens...call an ambulance and take the ride. ribs suck and hurt a shitload...ace bandage wrapped snugly around sometimes alleviates some of the discomfort by helping stabilize them....if it’s just simple ribs...plan in it hurting for a month...good luck!!

Go to the ER now. Just tell them you're having chest pains. ER's put this at an extremely high priority.

Virtually certain they'll be on you right away. No waiting.

Best wishes to you.

If it's that bad I would find one of the doctors in a box places where you can just walk in. Call and see if they do chest X-rays first.

I bruised my ribs so bad playing hockey a few years back I couldn't get my pads off. If interesting when you have to ask a teammate help undress you.

I wasn't sure at the time if I had bruised them or cracked them. There isn't much they can do anyway but I wanted to know if they were broken or just bruised. I called two of the local walk-in docs one had an x-ray on sight and one didn't. I was in and out in about an hour with x-rays.

Good luck even if they are not broken just bruised ribs are not fun.

.

There are Urgent Care centers that specialize in Orthopedic needs. A Google search located 30 in the San Fran area.

You might also call your medical insurance company to ask if they have an Ortho Urgent Care facility for you to use.

Get a GOOD rib Belt (Not Walmart Walgreens Crap)
It will alleviate the pain until you heal up.
Go to a medical store and avoid one that has retail packaging.
I could hook you up if you need one. Email me.