There are several reasons your ribs might be in pain. If you had an accident that caused them to be struck then you could have a cracked or broken rib. Or, there could be a simple bruise or pulled muscle. However, the most common cause of rib pain is when one or more are out of alignment.
If you have difficulty with deep breathing without localized pain in your ribs then you likely have one of the above issues. There isn’t much that can be done with a broken or cracked rib. All any doctor will do is x ray the area and maybe wrap you with an elastic bandage. There simply isn’t much that can be done. But, a misaligned rib can be treated, often even with a self applied treatment.
In the back, the ribs are connected to the spin with an interesting joint that is different from others in the body. The same applies to the front where they connect to the sternum. When these areas are dislocated the pain is usually quite severe. But, that is fairly rare. When they go slightly out of alignment the pain can be somewhat bad, but is usually bearable. Fortunately, you don’t have to bear it!
Ribs are constantly going in and out of alignment. You probably won’t notice because they usually go back fairly soon after slipping out. But, once they have been out for awhile the muscles will start to become inflamed from their efforts to pull the rib back into alignment. Then, the surrounding muscles, ligaments and other tissues can become inflamed causing more pain.
The remedy is to simply put them back! A chiropractor will gladly do this for you, but it’s going to cost a fair amount of money. Self adjusting is much cheaper, but the technique takes a little practice. And, you will need a massage tool to self adjust the ribs that you can’t reach in back. But, the cost of the book that teaches the technique and massage tool is usually less than a single chiropractic adjustment.
Another way to deal with it is to have a friend adjust the rib for you. They might be able to do it the way a chiropractor does which uses force that causes cracking and often hurts, but that takes training. But, they can easily learn to do it a very gentle way that doesn’t crack. It still takes a little skill, and some strength, but most people can learn from it from the video. It really isn’t that hard.
These gentle techniques are taught in the book, Self Adjusting Technique which you can get at the link. It includes great descriptions and photos of the techniques, and also comes with videos demonstrating most of the techniques, including the one you can share with a friend so they can adjust you.
Or, you can be the hero and help out your loved ones with an incredibly gentle adjustment that they will be amazed by. In fact, most people don’t even realize anything has changed until you have them take a deep breath. Once they discover the pain is gone you get to see their astonishment that what you did really helped.
The Self Adjusting Techniques aren’t just for the ribs either. They include the neck, back and hips. While they are taught as a way to self adjust, it is very easy to do for others. And, if you have a problem you can ask me! I usually answer emails within a day unless I’m traveling or something. You can also do a phone or Skype session with me if you like. In fact, there isn’t much I can’t heal with holistic methods, so you can contact me about anything.
Whatever your back or rib problems may be, you can probably help yourself in most cases. All it takes is a little knowledge that is contained in Self Adjusting Technique and the included videos. Give it a try, and if it doesn’t work for you let me know and I’ll either help you out or give you a full refund, so there’s no risk for you.
