Rib Pain After Injury? Try This Easy Taping Trick

So, what these ribs I'm eating have in common with the rib pain, what you might feel right now. If you have an injury on the background, you have might hurt these intercostal muscles, what are between the ribs. And when they get hurt, oh man, it can be seriously painful. You probably are here because you have been googling for a good answer and easy solution for this kind of issues.

And I say this, you have landed in the right place. Because in just moment we are going to tape that rib area up in a way that it's going to bring you some real relief. Now, if you are only here for the taping technique and could not care less about anatomy or the background of the pain, feel free to jump ahead using the timestamps below. But if you want to understand what's actually going on and why these taping works, stick around.

Knowing the why can really help in long run. So, what's our rib cage made of? We got 12 pair of ribs. And the bottom two I call it floating ribs because they don't connect to the sternum through the cartilage.

The 12th rib sits in a way back near the spine and the 11th floats just above your hip bone. And they are only supported by the muscles. Meanwhile, the 10th rib is still connected to the sternum via cartilage. Inside the thoracic region are some really important structures including parts of the nervous system that are super, super sensitive.

And that's why the rib cage needs to be well protecting The guts inside. But why do weird sharp rib pains happen? Injuries, shrines and blunt impacts are usually one to blame. Let me tell you a story to explain it a bit more better.

Meet Seppo, grappler who wants to train in Ju-Jitsu. It's beautiful martial arts. Kind of like folding laundry with the person inside of the clothes. Now, if you are on the bottom, your opponent's job is to make your life difficult.

So, let's say I've got 100 kilos of love pressing down to your chest and that weight makes every breath harder. Eventually, if you don't breath well, you're going to feel that you are suffocating. In Seppo's case, he took that weight to the wrong way, felt something shift in his ribs and the pain started spreading across the rib cage. Maybe something popped or maybe even fractured, but an ER visit confirmed everything was intact.

Still, the pain was real and he needed ways to manage it. So, that is the point when the kinesiology tape comes in. Color doesn't matter, it's all about the Feng Shui. But you'll need several strips to cut to the size.

In Seppo's case, the pain was around in lower ribs, probably near 10th rib, in right where the cartilage connects to the sternum. That zone needs to be supported. Cut the tape pieces along through to cover the entire pain area and then round the corners. If the sharp edges catches the clothing or something else, it will going to reduce how long the tape will going to stay in.

Now, tear the tape from the middle, fold the ends inwards and peel them back. Then, apply stretch to the center sections to max tension. Apply the tension directly over the painful area and make sure the tape sticks to the skin smoothly. You can add little extra tension near the end, but the finish anchor without any stretch.

And apply these multiple strips from different directions. When you apply the anchor of the tape, it always need to be without any stretch, because if there is a stretch applied to whole tape area, it will going to start peeling off also. If you see little skin folds form, that is a good thing. The tape is lifting the skin and pulling the tissues underneath, helping the area to calm down faster.

This reduces the pain and keeps your muscles from tightening up defensively. Once your tape art is done, rub the tape to warm it up. The heat activates the adhesive and it helps the tape to stay on longer. And always tape on the clear skin.

If you don't take a shower before applying, you will going to get the skin dirty underneath the tapes and it will going to start feeling big awkward. So, always wash yourself before the taping. The goal is to calm the tissue down first. Once the issues start to settle, you should see your pain-free range of motion improve.

In Seppo's case, the pain was in low near the costal arch. So, after removing the tape, I recommended to gently massage the area with the fingertips to loosen tight spots. If your rib pain is higher up and you need mobility exercises, I've got you covered. Check this link and see you at the next one.