QUESTION: What Should I Do About Pulled Muscles Around My Rib Cage?

Beth,

I have read the string on the SurfPulse site about rib injures, however I think my injury is different. It is more muscle-specific than bone-specific. I began surfing everyday around mid-April, and had some soreness directly below my pectorals in some muscles that felt like they were beneath my ribcage. What are these muscles called?

Then, about two weeks ago, after a session, the muscles on my right side were burning with pain—much like the excruciating pain described on the site’s rib injury string. I am especially sore in the muscle beneath my rib cage on my right side. If I were standing straight up and put my arms down to my sides, the epicenter of pain would be directly beneath the middle of my bicep in the muscles beneath my ribcage.

So, what can I do to prevent these injuries? What are these muscles called? Would stretching help?

Thanks!
Jake M.

ANSWER:

Hey Jake,

Sounds to me like you could have done a number to your intercostal muscles. These are cellophane-thin muscles that line your rib cage area. You could also have aggravated the fascia (also cellophane-thin) that surround this area. I have done this before on a 24-day, 2-3 sessions per day surf trip in Costa Rica. Time was my only friend with this injury. A doctor's look-see is always a good thing if you are highly concerned.

My best suggestion to you would be to avoid activities which aggravate it and to let it heal. If stretching doesn't hurt it, than I would go for it. But be careful, as this area may need to be left alone for a while. Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing for an injury (in the beginning). Once the injury is not so "hot," then stretching and maybe a bit of massage would expedite the healing process. Hopefully, this is just an overuse injury and, with a ton of TLC, it will go away and not come back to haunt you! If it does keep flaring up once you have COMPLETELY healed it, then I would see a medical professional to figure out what is going on.

Good luck!
Beth

Other surf fitness articles

Send this article to a friend

Send your comments to SurfPulse or discuss publicly in SurfPulse Lounge