Dislocated ribs? Sounds like something one of us old dudes would get.
What causes it? Below from Mens health tips.com
"Very often, the proximate cause (the nearby event on which you or your doctor are most likely to blame the dislocation) is some trauma that contorted a section of your rib-cage.
That could be a fall, a vehicle accident, a heavy blow from a fight or a contact sport, etc.
There'll be an obvious lump at the site, and quite a bit of pain, especially when you breathe.
Another way to dislocate a rib is by letting yourself get weak and flabby, and then exerting yourself, especially in an asymmetrical manner. For example, your correspondent here lives in a northerly climate where we get quite a bit of snow. Since the snow of a previous winter had crushed the little utility shed in our back yard, I was determined that the same fate would not befall the replacement shed. So, when a big dump of snow had the little shed groaning under several feet (a meter, plus) of snow, I set out to remove some of it.
I used a "snow rake". It's basically like a snow pusher, except that it has a long light-weight handle (to reach far up a roof) and you pull the snow down from the roof, rather than push it along a drive or walkway.
So there I was, stretching to get the snow rake to the far side of the roof, then hauling it back toward me, pulling a load of snow. Of course, I couldn't pull that long handle through the middle of my chest, it had to pass to one side of me or the other. Therefore, I was mostly pulling with one arm. Yes, strong torsional motion against a considerable and unaccustomed resistance. (Did I mention that I'd let myself get out of shape?)
Yes, that same side was sore the next morning, and it hurt to take a deep breath.
Another example
We've known people to pop a rib by opening a door.
Yup.
They did it one-handed (don't you?) and it was a heavy door, but that off-balance, asymmetrical pulling motion caused a rib in the back (same side as the pulling arm, usually) to disengage a bit from it's socket. It helps (ok, by that we mean "hurts") to have something awkward in the other arm, or a whinging kid pulling in the opposite direction
Ever see anybody trying to pull-start a reluctant lawn-mower or other two-stroke engine? There's another sore, dislocated rib waiting to happen.... trying to happen. Or maybe apoplexy will get him first. Two words for you man: "electric start". 'Nuff said.
Ever see a strong young kid leap into the air, twisting to look behind him, arms in position to receive a football (American or Australian Rules), when the tackle hits from one side? Yow. If his spine doesn't separate from his lower half, then at least his ribs are yanked brutally out of position. Guess what happens? At least some of those ribs don't resume their proper settings. Being a tough kid, he plays out the rest of the game with a dislocated rib. Makes it worse.
Older guys are so much more sensible. They'll go out on the driving range after a winter of inactivity and whale away at a bucket of balls, with little or no warm-up. All kinds of things can go wrong in that scenario, including a dislocated rib or two. Gosh! Wonder why? Abrupt torsional motion with a long lever in your hand, using muscles that have grown flaccid during the hibernation season. And repeat, aggressively. There goes your season, Bud.
Yeah, yeah, lots of ways to make it go bad. What really happened?
Most likely, in the snow-clearing example, I did some initial damage by repeatedly pulling loads of snow, like rowing, one-armed with my arm high. The footing in the yard was also not the most stable. But I was warm from the work and the muscles were flexible, so I didn't notice much of a problem - it could have gone either way.
Later, during the night, I slept on that side, and my overweight body put a lot of side pressure on the ribs, making the problem worse. If I'd just slept on my back that night, the problem would likely have corrected itself with my straight posture and flattening pressure on the back actually helping the disturbed rib to go back into its rightful place instead of dislodging further. But I didn't, and it didn't (or did or...). So there I was with a dislocated rib.
Similar idea for all the other lucky fellas in the other examples."
