Fractured ribs are another kind of injury that can happen to your bones. They can happen at any time. Fractured ribs can occur during sports, if you get into an accident or fall, if you get into a fight, or if you have a severe case of pneumonia and need to cough a lot. They can only really happen by coughing if you have very brittle bones to begin with. But no matter how they happened, one thing is for sure- they can really hurt.
Right when it happens, you may not realize it if you have fractured ribs. In fact, you could possibly have the injury for a few days without noticing depending on how severe it is. Sometimes people ignore symptoms of pain thinking they will get better. When they don’t get better after a day or two, that is when people start taking action. The symptoms of fractured ribs include pain when touching the rib area, a sharp pain that happens with movement or coughing, or an abnormal amount of inflammation and pain around the rib area. If you think you have any of these symptoms it is a good idea to get an x-ray done and either go to the hospital or see your doctor.