Broke my rib three weeks ago, slammed on the beach. Lower rib, right side. Doctors reckon 4 weeks to heal and six weeks before getting back on the kite.
This weekend is predicting some serious wind, which will be just under 4 weeks, so 2 questions....
What's your actual healing time for a broken rib before kiting again?
And, hyperthertically, could someone with a lower rib break, get back out a bit early if they raised their belt so it was sitting around their upper chest, above the break point? Hyperthetically, of course....
Chuck on a seat harness and no poblems at all.Except for the pain
A few of us here have smashed a rib or two
and have been back in the water 2 days later.
Depends how keen/addicted you are. A hand full of pain killers,wait half an hour, and go for it.
Still hurts and you might only last an hour in the water, but is well worth it if the winds on.
I had two broken ribs on the right side,still get sore 4 years on
, and lasted a week out of the water till I just had to get back out there.
I broke one on my left side and was back in the water 2 days after.
Drugs,,,,,good drugs ,are the key to stop the pain
How sh!t scared do you get if you feel like your gunna sneezeooouuuucchhhh
Ribs suck dude! Give it the full six weeks otherwise you'll be pissed if it goes again.
I'm going through exactly the same issue, 4 weeks into a torn calf injury, probably need 2 more, feel good although everyone reckons once you think your ready, give it one more week. Better resting than turning it into a chronic injury.
What a crock of ** lotto, big diff between a light fracture and a broken rib two days my ass.
6 weeks to heal, wasn't exactly right for another 4-6 weeks..
It's a long process with no quick fix.. Seat harness maybe but my advice is don't go nuts and come off your board. Body dragging isn't a pleasant experience and actually set me back due to the pain.
However tempting the strong wind is... If you play and get thrashed you will know about it the next few days... Trouble sleeping, breathing ect.. Get the doc to square away a repeat of panadeine forte.. Valiums will assist also for those painfull nights!!!
Enjoy!
Have "broken" sternum and ribs 3x and its no quick fix 6 weeks min just for the rib if you go out too early its real easy to seperate again wth a good smack.
and have been back in the water 2 days later., and lasted a week out of the water till I just had to get back out there.ooouuuucchhhh
but if you broke your sternum as well, your forgiven. even for "helping"" the sheep over the fence. 
grnnnhhhhh.... my rib is saying wait, but the rest of me is pretty keen. went for a run straight after but too painful when the belt dug into the rib
thinking i'll have to do the time.... not that interested in prolonging this shyte. doing some light excerise but even that flares it....
was hoping someone might have a better story
lotofwind, ya got a better story alright. guess i just have to weigh up the pain/healing factor
for me it was 6 weeks out then riding with a nappy lightly hit the water and spent the next 6 weeks out again. 1 year down the track still had pain after a half hour in the harness but after 2 years all good besides when paddle surfing the lump digs into the board. My advise would be let it heal now or feel it forever.
^^^^^^^^Îs that what your avatar is doing
If so,,does that mean she is good to go,,,ummm,,,kiteing.
I broke my ribs riding home from the pub 6 weeks off and painkillers and antiinflamatarys (lucky they were aligned and the break wasn't severe.Let the injuiry heal mate.
Problem is if they haven't healed they are substantially weakened and further impact can result in punctured lungs etc. (difficulty breathing)
I broke a rib a couple of months ago. Was feeling better at 4 weeks, I then did a bit of exercise (not kiting) and it felt a whole lot worse for week 5. I first kited, still a bit sore, after 6 weeks. Felt 100% after about 8 weeks.
I reckon 6 weeks is a realistic time to wait for it to heal. A second injury kiting too soon could result in a punctured lung and a hospital visit.
geta seat harness or youll be sorry. i made mine worse by going out a week later with a waist harness, yes lower rib. ribs take a couple months at least to feel good in a waist harness
sure you can kite carefully but the more you move the break the longer it will take to heal and it wont heal as strong as well as a big lump around the break. It's not like muscles if a broken bone hurts your going backwards plus there is always the punctured lung risk.
I broke a rib a few weeks before christmas. Went cray diving a few days later and made it a lot worse! Took a good 4 or 5 weeks before I could bear to wear a harness, and another week or two before i could jump ect without the pain
Hey gordnot,
how's the ribs today?
Your injury is definitely worse than mine but it is similar so have a read and maybe we can help each other out by pooling our info?
Sunday week past I injured a rib on the rocks at "boiling pot" Noosa, surfing. It's on the left back. I didn't think it was cracked because I cracked one in 2007 and I couldn't keep surfing that day. At Noosa, a few deep breaths and I was back in the line up. (It was a good session going down, hardly anyone on it....hard to leave...)
Tuesday and Thursday following, I went kiting with a seat harness and all went well. I had assisted launches but flipping the kite at setup and packdown was painful and Basically my left arm was useless for this light strength stuff.
On Saturday(6 days from the incident) went surfing and after 90 minutes the nearest muscles started spasming and I could no longer paddle or push up and I realized it was now worse than the whole of last week. Now my ribs are sorer than at any stage last week (bar the moment of contact with the rock!)
but that's the way it goes.
I have tied a longsleeve shirt around the damaged area as a support and this gives some relief as does the massage, acupuncture and good ol' ibuprofen;), all of which I found helped heaps the first time. That took three weeks before I entered the water again to surf.
I hope somewhere in here there's a light for your recuperation m8.
I'll go for a kite again Thursday (with the seat) and let you know the score.
I would guess an impact vest may be a good option for the future and may even help support the ribs for an early comeback?
What have you found helps the best for yours and when are you planning to hit the water once more?
Cheers
I've had broken ribs from a dirtbike accident and could hardly SLEEP for the first 2 weeks. Forget kiting! No drugs worked... Had to sleep upright on a garden sun bed.
Let it heal, give it time. There will be lots more windy days ahead...
Hey pattiecannon, sounds a bit different. Wind picked up and i was overpowered. Was ripped out of the shories, 20ft up over the beach, swung kite back towards the water but slammed into the sand, just had time to decide not to land on my legs as i'm sure would've broken them. Got up in that dazed, post-slam state, felt sore but figured i'd keep going. Did another run out through the waves, turned round for the run back to beach and pain was serious as the belt pressed into the rib. Went in, dropped the kite, waited about 20mins, trying to work out whether i was being a total whoos. Wind had dropped a little, launched the kite and the pain from belt digging into rib was severe. Dropped the kite and called it a day.
couldn't have gone out the next week. the break is right on the belt. Got the pandeine forte but haven't bothered. Sleeping and sneezing have been fairly shyte but getting better.
the star-jumps sound like a pretty fair test. i'm not too keen on getting a puntured liver, so will wait and see.
When you get back on the water definitely get a seat harness for the first few months to keep the bar away from your ribs. And don't rush to get back onto the water.
Good luck
I haven't broken/fractured my ribs but I did bruise them heavily in a motorcycle accident. The doctor said to me that the pain would continue and not decrease, but one day I would wake up and feel fine. My Dad has fractured his ribs and said the same thing. The pain persists until healing is completed.
Plenty of sympathy for you mate, sucks not being able to cough, sneeze or even laugh! for fear of rib pain payback.
I've made the mistake before of messing with something when it hadn't healed. The result was a shoulder op instead of just giving it time to settle. As someone above said, short term gain, long term pain.
Rely on what your doctor tells you and don't shorten the process or you'll suffer in the long term. You only have one body, when it goes you'll be playing lawn bowls and dreaming about your younger days when you could kite.
It's a bone, not soft tissue.
'Re-break' a bone and the healing process has to start all over again. 
I have broken, then rebroken an elbow (not kiting related) and it was not fun.
Also have broken ribs kiting. My $0.02 worth is much the same as others....
6 weeks + seat harness
Star jumps sounds like a good test too.
Good luck... 
