A Simple Guide to Slipping Rib Syndrome, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Slipping Rib Syndrome, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Disorders

Slipping rib syndrome happens when the costal cartilage securing ribs 8, 9 and 10, breaks, and allows the rib to sublux (partially dislocate), becoming hypermobile, and moving abnormally to cause pain in their chest or upper abdomen.

The disorder is slightly more frequent in women than men.

It has been documented in people as young as 12 years and as old as mid-80s but it mostly involves middle-aged people.

Overall, the syndrome is regarded as rare.

The precise cause of slipping rib syndrome is not well understood.

Slipping rib syndrome might happen after a trauma, injury, or surgery, but cases have been reported without any notable injuries.

Other causes are:
Congenital anomaly of the chest wall
The destruction of the fibrous articulation of the rib or their cartilage portion
Hyper-mobility of the costal cartilages of the false ribs

It is believed to be a result of hyper-mobility of the rib cartilage (costochondral) or ligaments, especially ribs 8, 9, and 10.

These three ribs are not attached to the sternum, but rather attached to each other by loose fibrous tissue.

They are occasionally called false ribs.

Due to this, they are most vulnerable to trauma, injury, or hyper-mobility.

This slippage or movement stimulates the nerves and may strain certain muscles in the area, causing inflammation and pain.

Ribs become slipping ribs due to hyper-mobility (too much motion) of the ribs at their attachment sites.

The underlying issue is believed to be due to injured or stretched ligaments that attach the ribs to both the spine and sternum.

This is often produced by seat belt injuries in car accidents, and collisions in contact sports.

It is very frequent for athletes involved in contact sports to get a slipped rib.

Traumatic injury produces stretching and occasionally tearing of the ligament attachments of the rib, creating instability of the rib.

Slipping ribs can produce many different types of pain.
Intermittent sharp stabbing pain in the upper abdomen or back, accompanied by a dull, achy sensation
Intermittent sharp stabbing pain in the upper back, mid-back, or even lower back
Slipping, popping, or clicking sensations in the lower ribs
Difficulty in breathing
Numbness in the arm or numbness around the chest or abdomen
Worsening of symptoms when bending, lifting, coughing, sneezing, deep breathing, stretching, or turning in bed

The diagnosis is made by a simple medical test-hooking maneuver, during which the doctor’s fingers are placed under the affected rib margin and pulled forward.

If this duplicates the pain, clicking or a moving sensation the test is positive

A sonography, or ultrasound diagnostic imaging, can provide a fairly accurate depiction of where the ribs are presently placed.

Dynamic ultrasound of the ribs can be conducted with valsalva, coughing, twisting, crunch and push maneuvers to diagnose SRS.

Conservative Treatment involves:
Rest.
Avoiding strenuous activities.
Applying heat or ice to the affected area.
Oral medicines like NSAIDS.
Topical analgesics.
Physical Therapy - stretching and rotation exercises
Nerve blocks.

Non-conservative Treatment

If the disorder persists or produces severe pain, surgery may be advised.

The procedure or Partial rib resection has been an effective treatment for slipping rib syndrome.

Vertical rib plating with bio-absorbable plates reduced the rate of recurrence with early treatment.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Slipping Rib Syndrome
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Costochondritis
Chapter 8 Intercostal Neuralgia
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Mar 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005595340

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Slipping Rib Syndrome,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2022 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Slipping Rib Syndrome, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Disorders which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Slipping Rib Syndrome)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Slipping rib syndrome

What is slipping rib syndrome?

Slipping rib syndrome happens when the costal cartilage securing ribs 8, 9 and 10, breaks, and allows the rib to sublux (partially dislocate), becoming hypermobile, and moving abnormally to cause pain in their chest or upper abdomen.

Slipping rib syndrome is given many names,