Did You Know You Can Break Bones By Coughing?

Did you know that you can break bones by coughing? This is not all that uncommon either. About two years ago, I had a really bad cold and could not stop coughing. I tried to take it easy and rest as much as possible. When I finally began to feel better, I wanted to return to my morning jog. On the way home I felt a side stitch and slowed down. All day long this side stitch stayed with me and even started to feel worse. By the next day, when the side stitch was still there, I decided something just wasn't right. That evening I was in tears from pain. I called our family physician's assistant. She told me it sounded as if I had broken some ribs. When I told her that I hadn't done anything, since I had been sick, she inquired about the symptoms. When she learned of the coughing, she said it isn't rare that people will break ribs coughing when they have bronchitis! Sure enough, the next day I went in for x-rays, which revealed three broken ribs!