Expert: Dr. Paul Newhart - 11/27/2007

Question
Dr. Newhart,
      About 5 days ago I was skiing in the backcountry up in Alaska. I was probably traveling at a speed between 50-60 mph when my skis hit a rock under the powder. This stoped my feet "dead in their tracks". Obviously, my upper body kept in motion, 'sling-shoting' straight to the ground in front of me. All the impact was taken between my face and my sternum. At this point, my feet are now above (and passing) my head, my body is in the shape of a 'J'. I hear/feel a POP and the wind was knocked out of me. Since then I have pain in my sternum when I touch it in the 3rd rib area. It is also painful to rotate my shoulders (moreso to the right than the left), and to hold weight in either hand. In addition to the pain felt in my sternum, is a pain in my spine between my shoulder blades and also my neck at shoulder height. Breathing deep is not a problem, but coughing and sneezing brings on extreme sternal pain. With my arms at my side and hands placed together in front, pushing them together also creates pain (in my sternum), while resistance in the oposite motion is pain-free. Rotation of my head is pain-free, but comes with tightness/stretching looking down and an almost pinching pain when looking up.  While laying down, any lift of the head brings a sharp sternal pain making the transitions between laying down and sitting up very painful. I am a very active 25 year old male and being down for just these few days has already felt like an eternity. My ongoing financial struggles make it difficult to take time off work, but in this condition I'm afraid I'm of no value in the field of construction. To add to this I'm also uninsurred, making a doctor visit unprobable. My question to you is, do you have any information as to what type of injury(s) I may have sustained, recovery time, and any excercizes and/or stretches to help speed the recovery process.

Answer
My first step would be an xray to make sure there was no damage and/or fracture.  If you visit a good chiropractor, he should take an xray, asses for misalignments, and probably use therapies (electrical stim, ultrasound, etc,) that will help you recover quicker.