<human>: earlier this week I hit my rib and had sharp pain immediately afterwards. it hurt to breathe, sit up, lay down, and to cough, but the pain wasn t intense enough that I couldn t function. the pain is still there but now I have a lump where I injured it. I ran my hand across the bottom and the top of the rib and it seems to be on both side. this week I started a job where I clean out crawl spaces under houses and I have been pushing through the pain. i guess my questions are how can i tell it i bruised, fractured, or broke my rib and what is that lump on my rib, i am worried that with my job i may have broken my rib and it is laying on top of one another, but on the other hand i assume i would be unable to even move if that were the case please help
<bot>: Hi, Thanks for your query. From description, it seems to be soft tissue injury to chest. Lump might be due to hematoma formation(collection of blood). You need an x-ray to rule out any bony injury. I suggest you to consult an orthopaedician nearby for a detailed examination. You may get the X-ray of the area affected under his/her guidance. Beside icing and elevating it, you can take anti-inflammatory Chat Doctor. I do hope that you have found something helpful, and I will be glad to answer any further query. Take care