Jockeying Loose Ribs Back Into Place

Continuing our recent theme of the positive impact of chiropractic upon top-flight athletes, today's story comes from Australia. It's a land of giant spiders, kangaroos, large opera houses, and horse racing.

Jockey Corey Brown overcame all odds to win the recent Australia Cup horse race. What odds? Well, Mr. Brown had a horse fall on him only a week before. Horses are very large creatures, which always seem bigger when you're standing right next to them. I've never seen a horse from immediately below while it's laying on top of me, but I can only imagine that it would seem massive. And hard to push off.

According to KGBAnswers.com, the average racehorse weighs over half a ton, depending on the horse's physique and size. That's a lot of animal lying on top of you. And remember that jockeys are usually quite slender and light. I'd be less worried about a hulk like Arnold Schwarzenegger under a horse, but a jockey... !

Naturally, Mr. Brown was worried that he'd broken something. His sides were very painful and he wasn't able to ride without considerable discomfort.

Broken ribs take a long time to heal. Ribs are meant to protect the heart, lungs, and stomach. But because of their strange and curving shape, there's usually very little that can be done in the way of bracing, casting, or protecting. Broken ribs usually heal on their own (consult an orthopedic surgeon), but they require several weeks to heal. In the meantime, even slight motions like breathing can cause exquisite pain. The jarring and bouncing on a racehorse would be absolutely excruciating.

Fortunately, it was eventually determined that Mr. Brown had not broken any ribs. Desperate to ride in that weekend's Australia Cup (a fairly important event in the horse racing community, I understand), Mr. Brown turned to his chiropractor. The chiropractor examined him and found that four of his ribs had been subluxated (slightly dislocated) from their normal attachment sites on the spinal vertebrae. Mr. Brown's pain was caused by a combination of the inflammation at the area of subluxation, the stretch and strain of the muscles between the ribs (the intercostal muscles), and the nerve interference caused by the subluxations.

The chiropractor proceeded to adjust Mr. Brown's ribs, and Mr. Brown was able to ride in the horse race just a few days later. The chiropractor is a true unsung hero of the story (the doctor's name is not even mentioned in the newspaper accounts of the event). Mr. Brown went on to win the prestigious race, and the rest, as they say, is history.