Hi Beth,
Last summer, after a couple of days of surfing and paddling around in my 5/3 wetsuit (I am in Oregon), I experienced what I self-diagnosed as an intercostal muscle pull. I felt some irritation in the area from fatigue, caught a wave at the end of the day and felt an excruciating pain on my right side. The pain is not really localized, but it is more along my ribcage towards my back, as opposed to that rib area near the abs that always gets a little sore from surfing. Anyway, it felt like a knife in my chest for about 3 weeks, and it hurt to stand up straight, take deep breaths, or sleep on my stomach. After not surfing for about 6 months, I was still experiencing mild pain in the area, especially after a day of hiking, tennis, or something like that.
The pain has receded to the point now to where I can participate in everyday activities without feeling my ribs. However, I have gone surfing a couple of times, and when I do, the area immediately flares up again and hurts for a couple of days. Additionally, throughout this injury I have been rock-climbing 2-3 days a week, and that activity doesn’t seem to aggravate the area, but I am sure it isn’t helping.
I am contemplating something I really don’t want to do, and that is to rest and stop climbing and surfing until all pain in the area is gone. I am sure you are going to tell me this is what I need to do
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