Services
The Rib Injury Clinic offers a compressive service to assess any type of rib, chest or breastbone (sternal) injury. Following an expert clinical assessment, a range of investigations can be offered to identify the underlying problem including ultrasound, MRI and CT scan. Treatment options include interventional radiology including joint injections, pain and rehabilitation management, physical therapy and Surgery.
Services offered:
Diagnosis
Mr Hunt will fully evaluate your chest and confirm the likely source of your problem. Careful clinical assessment is important as occasionally chest wall injuries particularly subtle rib fractures or fracture dislocations of the joint between the rib and sternum can be easily missed. He will then recommend a management plan including further investigations, and treatment.
If further evaluation is needed, the Rib Injury Clinic works with some of the top specialists in Sport medicine, Orthopaedics and physiotherapy as well as chest clinicians based at St. George's and Spire St. Anthony's Hospitals.
Image of chest wall skeleton (front and from top)) showing ribs, costal cartilage (in blue) and sternum
Investigations
Following the full clinical evaluation, if required appropriate further tests will be requested including musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary investigations. Chest X-ray, but especially Chest CT or MRI are useful tools with increasing sensitivity for detecting the obvious to more discreet chest wall injuries. Ultrasound may help with very subtle rib fractures especially subluxation or dislocation of the rib. Dynamic Ultrasound with an experienced radiologist is essential if slipped rib syndrome is suspected.
Chest CT scan 3D reconstruction of a young man with multiple rib fractures following a fall from a ladder
Treatment
Chest wall injuries require time to heal so it is important you receive a complete service throughout your treatment. At Spire St Anthony's we have dedicated before and after teams to provide a comprehensive evaluation and treatment for those affected by chest wall injuries. We will assess the most appropriate treatment methods for you. Whether it be invasive or non-invasive, we ensure your treatment will be of the highest quality, tailored to your individual needs. For many, simple analgesics, support garments and targeted physiotherapy and rehabilitation will suffice in restoring the ribcage however for more severe cases, injections to site of the injury or even surgery may be required.
