Page 1 of 2 Going Home with a Chest Injury About your injury When you go home A chest injury can cause broken ribs or bruised • Take your medicines as directed by your doctor. chest muscles. It is important that you take your pain medicines. This will allow you to cough and take deep Broken ribs breaths to clear your lungs. Having one or more broken ribs is painful. There • Use your spirometer (machine to strengthen may be injury to the organs, too. Broken ribs do lungs). Do the deep breathing and coughing not need surgery and take 4 to 6 weeks to heal. exercises at least 4 times daily. The biggest risk is pneumonia (lung infection). • To decrease pain when you cough, hold a pillow tightly against your chest. Bruised chest wall or lung • Slowly increase your daily activity. A bruised chest wall or lung may take up to 24 hours to show up. • Do not drink alcohol or drive until you stop your pain medicines. If there is damage to the lung, you may need a respirator (breathing machine) for a time to help • No heavy lifting for 8 weeks. you breathe. If there is no rib damage, a bruised chest usually heals in 3 to 5 days. Follow up Be sure to go to your follow-up visit. The clinic staff will call to schedule your visit. Return to the emergency department if Lungs you notice: • Fever over 101.5°F (38.6°C) • Increased shortness of breath • A cough that does not go away or you cough Ribs up blood • You feel weak, dizzy or faint. For informational purposes only. Not to replace the advice of your health care provider. Image adapted copyright © 1989, Medical College of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. Copyright © 2013 Fairview Health Services in collaboration with University of Minnesota Physicians. All rights reserved. SMARTworks 521414 – 06/13. Page 2 of 2 If you have any questions, call Our nurse: 612-624-0665 (during office hours). The hospital: 612-273-3000 (after hours, ask for the provider on call for trauma). If you are deaf or hard of hearing, please let us know. We provide many free services including sign language interpreters, oral interpreters, TTYs, telephone amplifiers, note takers and written materials..