Your ribs protect soft, fragile organs like your heart and lungs. Even though the rib bones are sturdy and are linked together by bands of muscles, it’s possible to break one or more ribs if you’re hit hard in the chest.

Broken ribs are painful and can hurt with every breath. And if they’re broken badly they can seriously damage internal organs.

There are several ways your ribs could be broken:

Some conditions can lead to a broken rib without your being hit very hard, including:

Sharp chest pain happens with a broken rib. But it’s different from a heart attack:

Your doctor will give you an exam. They’ll ask you what happened and will touch the painful area. They’ll want to listen to your lungs when you breathe and watch your rib cage as your chest goes up and down.

If your doctor suspects a rib fracture, they will want to get images of your chest. If the broken rib is caused by blunt trauma or a serious accident, they will want to make sure there’s is no other serious damage to internal organs.

Your doctor might order one or more of these:

How Bad Can It Be?

Many times, it’s just a crack or hairline fracture, and the rib doesn’t move out of place. But if more ribs are broken or if the fracture is from a serious injury, more problems are possible.

A broken rib can have a jagged edge that juts into the chest cavity. There’s a chance that it can harm one of your organs:

Most broken ribs take about 6 weeks to heal. While you’re on the mend:

If you have a more serious injury, you may need additional treatment or possibly surgery. For example, if your lung has been punctured by the sharp end of one of your ribs, you may need to have a procedure done to remove air or blood from inside your chest.

Some people whose ribs are badly injured might need to have them repaired with metal plates, but this is rare.