Written by the Phoenix Rehab physiotherapy team.Clinically reviewed by Louise Yow, Principal Physiotherapist & Director, AHPC A1300363H.Last reviewed 2 October 2026.
If you train Muay Thai or box, Muay Thai and boxing injuries lists every injury we see from it.
A rib fracture is a crack or break in one of the ribs, usually from a fall, a knock to the chest or a road accident. It hurts sharply when you breathe in, cough or turn, and one spot is tender to press. Most single, simple fractures heal on their own in about six weeks. The danger is rarely the rib. It is the lung underneath.
If you are short of breath, coughing blood, feeling faint, or the pain is getting worse, call 995. The same after a road accident or a fall from height, even if you feel fine.
How do you know if you have a broken rib?
You cannot tell for certain from the outside. Fractured and bruised ribs feel alike: sharp pain on breathing, one tender spot, pain when you turn. Only imaging confirms a fracture, and a doctor decides whether you need it. Small cracks often do not show on a first X-ray.
| Fractured rib | Bruised rib | |
|---|---|---|
| Usual cause | A harder blow; in older adults, sometimes a minor fall | A lighter knock |
| Pain | Sharp, pinpoint, catches on every deep breath | Sore, more spread out |
| Typical settling | Pain eases over 3 to 6 weeks; bone about 6 weeks | Often a few weeks |
For a simple injury, care at home is the same either way. What the doctor is really checking is the lung.
How long will a fractured rib take to heal?
The bone usually knits in about six weeks. The pain is worst in the first one to two weeks and usually eases over three to six. Coughing and rolling over are the last to stop catching. Contact sport comes later, once your doctor clears it.
Is a rib fracture a serious injury?
A single simple fracture usually heals well without surgery. What makes rib fractures serious is breathing. Pain makes you breathe shallow and hold back coughs, mucus collects in the lungs, and pneumonia can follow. The risk rises with age, with each extra rib broken, and with lung disease.
A broken end can also puncture the lung. Several ribs each broken in two places make a flail segment, a piece of chest wall that moves the wrong way when you breathe. That is an emergency.
What helps a broken rib
Breathe deeply, keep moving gently, and take the pain medicine your doctor advises so you can do both. For most people, that is the treatment. Which medicine, and how much, is your doctor’s decision.
Breathing and coughing
Every hour while awake, take about ten slow, deep breaths, holding each for two seconds. To cough, hug a folded pillow firmly against the sore side and cough into it. Do not hold coughs in; that is how chest infections start.
Getting out of bed with broken ribs: the log roll
- Bend both knees and hold a pillow against the sore side.
- Roll onto your side as one piece, shoulders and hips together, no twist.
- Slide your legs over the edge and push up with your arms as they go down.
- Sit for a few breaths before you stand. Reverse it to lie down.
Sleeping
Many people sleep better propped up on pillows for the first week or two. Use whichever position lets you breathe deepest.
Chest binders for rib fracture
Chest binders and rib belts are generally not recommended. They limit how far the chest expands, which is the opposite of what the lungs need.
Exercises to avoid with cracked ribs
For the first weeks, avoid heavy lifting, twisting under load, contact sport and straining with a held breath: the golf swing, the smash, sit-ups, a toddler on one hip. Walking is good for the lungs.
Why is my broken rib pain getting worse?
Rib pain should ease a little each week. Pain that is getting worse needs a doctor. It can mean a chest infection, air or fluid around the lung, or that it was never the rib. Pain still there at three months needs a doctor to check the healing.
What physio does once a doctor has cleared you
The bone heals on its own. We treat what weeks of guarding leave behind: shallow breathing and an upper back that will not turn.
- Stage 1, Calm & Protect: hourly deep breaths, the supported cough, the log roll, a daily walk.
- Stage 2, Move & Mobilize: breathing into the sore side, upper back rotation and reaching overhead, so the chest moves evenly.
- Stage 3, Rebuild & Strengthen: the trunk holds still against load, then turns against it.
- Stage 4, Return & Perform: golf, racquet sports and gym on a graded ladder, contact last, once your doctor clears it.
When to see a doctor first
Call 995 for shortness of breath, coughing blood, worsening chest pain, or feeling faint, after any high-speed or high-energy injury, and for chest pain with no injury behind it. Go to the emergency department now for upper-belly pain after a lower rib injury, which can come from the spleen or liver. See a doctor the same day for fever or colored phlegm in the days after. See a doctor soon if a rib cracked from a minor knock or a coughing fit, which can point to weak bones.
Where are you with this right now?
1. It is settling on its own
If each week a deep breath catches a little less and you can cough without the pillow, you are on the right road. Keep breathing deeply and walking. You do not need us for this, and we would rather say so.
2. It has stopped improving
Ten weeks after the fall, the golf swing still stops halfway. You roll out of bed sideways out of habit and carry the shopping in the other hand. The bone may have healed. The rotation in your upper back has not come back, and it can be measured side to side. Every first visit is one 45-minute Assessment & Treatment, $230, nett, no GST. If it has been months, the Stalled Recovery Review is three appointments over three weeks with the same therapist, $690.
3. You have had surgery, or you have a date
Some people with a flail segment have the ribs plated. After that, the stages are set with your surgeon. See physiotherapy after surgery. All of it runs on the four stages of the Phoenix Recovery Protocol.
Related reading
Sources: Bulger EM, Arneson MA, Mock CN, Jurkovich GJ. Rib fractures in the elderly. Journal of Trauma. 2000;48(6):1040-1046.
What our patients say
Google reviews from our clinics in Singapore.
Where we are
Clinics across Singapore
ORCHARD
400 Orchard Road #12-12
Orchard Towers, S238875
NS22 Orchard MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Orchard →
WhatsApp 8800 1830TAMPINES
9 Tampines Grande #01-20
Asia Green, S528735
EW2DT32 Tampines MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Tampines →
WhatsApp 8780 9608SERANGOON
265 Serangoon Central Drive #04-269
S550265 · Lift C only
NE12CC13 Serangoon MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Serangoon →
WhatsApp 8892 4121TANJONG PAGAR
10 Anson Road #02-77A
International Plaza, S079903
EW15 Tanjong Pagar MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Tanjong Pagar →
WhatsApp 8227 7074JURONG EAST
2 Venture Drive #02-02
Vision Exchange, S608526
NS1EW24 Jurong East MRT
Opening 25 October 2026
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Jurong East →
WhatsApp 8242 7340