QUESTION: What can I do to prevent paddling from hurting my rib?

Hi Beth,

I've been surfing my whole life and I'm turning 30 next week! The past few years I've noticed a very sharp pain in my lower rib cage... left hand side, the tip of my lowest rib. The pain occurs when I'm paddling and rest that particular point on the board. This makes paddling difficult and causes me to hold my body slightly more elevated while doing so. If I rest my rib too hard on the board the sharp pain continues and hurts when paddling in any position. When I am sitting on my board or upright I can press around this area and never find the sore spot? Any idea what might be causing this pain or maybe a preventative stretch?

Thanks,
Tom

ANSWER:

Hey, Tom.

OUCH! Rib pain is a major pain.... It is super sensitive and can take forever to heal. Did you ever take a major blow to that area that initially caused this pain?

I wonder if it is your rib that is causing pain or the tissue/thin muscle surrounding the ribs. Hard telling not knowing. You could have torn/aggravated that tissue or muscle which can take a long time to heal. But since you have been having this problem for years, I am not sure this is the case. Since you have been surfing for so long, you may have some calcification to the bony structure of your rib (constant rubbing/overuse of a bony area) but again, hard telling not knowing. If this is bothering you enough, I would suggest an x-ray and the opinion of a doctor.

Not sure if stretching will help until we know what we are dealing with, especially if you have a minor tear of some tissue. When I hurt my rib area like the way you are complaining of pain, stretching all the areas around the pain did help once I rested it for a bit.

Check out how you are paddling, you may be able to shift a bit on your board to avoid that area. Let me know what a doctor says if you go. Anything that lasts this long deserves a bit of TLC!!!

Hasta,
Beth

(1/21/06)

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