Does anyone's ribs dislocate?

[DISC]

I have gastroparesis and ehlers danlos syndrome. As a result of a PEG tube in my stomach I am limited to positions to sleep in bed, so have to sleep on my back. I would so love to sleep on my side. The other reason that I cannot sleep on my side, is that my joints are so painful that I never know what posiotion to put my lower body in, despite all the supports possible. If I lie on my side I lose the feeling in my arm, but worse of all, the one of my rib cage slips over the top of the other rib cage, when I relax, and I wake in excrutiating pain. My hubby has to position me on my back and I have to wait for my ribs to reposition themselves which can take an hour. Does anyone else have this problem? I find it terrifying when it happens.

[Janet28]

Oh my goodness DISC that sounds absolutely awful that you have to cope with that, wow, never heard of it. Although my daughter cracked her ribs just from a gentle hug a few months ago & that quite shocked me. That must be so painful, I bet its difficult to breath !

What does the doctor say about it ? Surely laying continuously on your back is going to give you problems. You don't you have Fibromyalgia. I have Arthritis too and have similar problems with how I lay because of hips & arms & I brought myself a body pillow which does help somewhat when laying in a position for a long period of time. I have myself surrounded by all kinds of pillows & I use a beany bag pillow a lot to put under arm or leg.

I see you joined last year but not posted, so is this your first post here ?

Peace, luv n light

Jan x

[Telynores]

I don't have EDS but I do have lax ligaments

With each pregnancy I had the feeling that my ribs slid over in the night - I am naturally a side sleeper - over the years this got worse though like Janet28 I have myself propped up and cuddle a cushion which seems to help my ribs though not my shoulders, arms, hips, ankles mmm any more

I'm pleased you posted as I'll ask my GP, it has always been put down to Costochondritis although fibro does affect our ligaments

[TheAuthor]

Hi DISC

I really am so genuinely sorry to read this and it sounds absolutely horrid! I had not heard of ribs dislocating before so I have done a *Google search and pasted an excerpt below:

Can you dislocate your ribs?

*A rib dislocation can cause difficulty when moving or breathing. A dislocated rib is a rib bone that has been disconnected from the spine or breastbone. It will not quickly heal by itself, but it will heal. It is recommended that you seek medical attention immediately when you dislocate a rib.

What is a floating rib cage?

*The phrase floating rib (Latin: costae fluitantes) refers to the two lowermost, the eleventh and twelfth, rib pairs; so-called because they are attached only to the vertebrae–and not to the sternum or cartilage of the sternum. These ribs are relatively small and delicate, and include a cartilaginous tip.

I have broken quite a few ribs over the last few years due to having Osteoporosis, but nothing as awful as your problem my friend. I want to sincerely wish you all the best of luck, and please take care of yourself.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken

[DISC in reply to TheAuthor]

Thank you for your kind words, and please take care and have a wonderful christmas period.

[TheAuthor in reply to DISC]