rib updates!

[laurajv]

Hey so broke & dislocated ribs, very fun times for me. I'm healing up pretty well, as these things go.

One thing I did run into is that -- look, I am very busty. My usual bra is a 34K, and that means I have to wear a bra to keep the weight of the breast itself off the damaged rib -- but of course the bra hurts, too. So I went looking for how to manage that situation and I....not that I don't understand the impulse to help? but people who have naturally smaller breasts -- by which I mean anything under an F-cup UK sizes for small band sizes, it's different at larger band sizes -- need to stop giving breast management tips to people with large breasts. The difference in managing these situations is substantial. (And I noticed SEVERAL people with, like, 36B-cup breasts offering advice and then there was a gap in reported cup sizes and then F+ cup people came in, which -- my GENERAL experience is that people with C+ cups understand there's a management difference, and a LOT of B-cup people absolutely the fuck do not, and it's incredibly annoying. Like C-DD people are all "ooh, that has to suck" and B people are "I have useful advice" YOU DO NOT, STFU.)

Like. I'm sorry. Layering two camisoles is a small boob support trick. And all the small boob people replying to large boob broken rib people had suggestions like that -- two camis! lightweight compression top! front-close bralette! etc.

Actual large boob people tips were very different and were things like "use gaffer tape to relocate the weight of the breast" and "buy an entirely new bra with these specific qualities".

By the way, here's what worked for me:
- a back brace for additional support/preventing me from moving in ways that hurt
- using kinesthesiology tape (instead of gaffer tape) to shift the weight of my breast to my upper pectoral area & collarbone -- this provided instant and substantial relief.
- using a bra expander to make my band a little less firm, but still allow support for the bust

Some people report success with basques sized up a band size or two, but I have not tried that, because I had all the other stuff in my house.

Comments

[fox]

two camis, ayfkm

The kinesio tape is a good tip and I will try to remember it if I am ever in that unfortunate position myself. My husband broke a rib once years ago and his main memory of the treatment was that he was advised not to tape it up because it wouldn't heal differently and he'd risk pneumonia - but he doesn't have a giant boob resting on it so I assume it's different for boobless body types as well.

[laurajv]

yeah, you kind of -- anchor the tape under the armpit/boob join, right around where the bra band goes, and use the tape to pull the boob towards the center and up to the collarbone area, where you anchor the other end of the tape. two pieces of KT Extreme transferred a LOT of the weight off the rib. HIGHLY approve.

It ends up looking like a side of one those sexy bras that is just the frame of the bra with the boob sticking out? very weird but I can't argue with the result.

[zulu]

Moving the boob with tape sounds genius!

Hope your ribs improve quickly.

[laurajv]

thank you! i am at the point where i'm going "is this the INJURY ITSELF, or is it an innocent body part being pulled out of whack by the injury?" hopefully over the next couple weeks things will go back to normal-for-the-most-part; i've been told that after 2 weeks i should be able to do most normal activities although i should be cautious and stop if there's more pain than minor aches, but that I can't, say, get back on my bike at all for a month to six weeks. (and...given what riding posture and gravity do to my boobs on the bike....i should probably be pretty careful about that.)

all in all i was very lucky, i could've been hurt MUCH worse, my bike helmet kept me out of the hospital, and I only messed up things that tend to heal ok.

[twistedchick]

I'm very glad you found a way to be more comfortable while healing (and help the healing as well.)

[vass]

Yowch, that sounds so painful and uncomfortable.

TBH, the boob scaffolding that sucked least for me was binding, but I wouldn't recommend that to someone with broken and dislocated ribs! (Depending on the fit, wearing one might actually be more comfortable than wearing a bra or freeboobing, but getting into and out of a binder would be a nope.)

[laurajv]

I still haven't been able to find a binder that works for my body, even with professional assistance from nice binder fitting customer service people. but yeah....would probably be pretty awful to bind with broken ribs, too!