This is driving me nuts. One minute I’m ok with the surgery, the next minute I’m convinced it’s a red herring. It’s just such a damaging red herring if it is. Here’s a quote from a paper about a swimmer that I keep running across…
Rib hypermobility caused by weakness of the rib-sternum (sternocostal), rib-cartilage (costochondral), and/or rib-vertebral (costovertebral/costotransverse) ligaments, allowing rib hypermobility, is thought to be the primary cause of slipping rib syndrome. Ribs 8 through 10 (false ribs), which are not connected to the sternum but are connected to each other via a cartilaginous cap or fibrous band, tend to be the most mobile and susceptible to trauma. Because of this, slipping rib syndrome is usually caused by hypermobility of rib 8, 9, or 10. Anterior rib hypermobility is also likely to cause problems in the posterior thoracic area as well because in a closed system (in this case, the rib cage) it is difficult for motion to occur at 1 site (the anterior portion of the rib) without causing motion to occur elsewhere (the posterior portion of the rib). So, as was the case with our athlete, the condition often results in back pain.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1150226/pdf/i1062-6050-40-2-120.pdf
I guess I’m suspecting facet joint syndrome although I don’t really have the symptoms of that. I just have this gut feeling (pardon the pun), that reconstructing my costal margin is NOT going to make my back pain better. Now I’m learning that all this shit about having two floating ribs is bullshit. Turns out most of us have three! Apparently I have three floating ribs and my ninth rib is subluxated. This should be irritating my 8th intercostal nerve. That’s just to high! Perhaps it’s not the intercostal nerve at all but hypermobile ribs irritating muscle. They talk about the “closed loop” as mentioned above. If my 10th rib is causing the pain, perhaps it’s because I lack stabilizing cartilage in my 10th rib (a variation of normal).
OK, so hold on. Dr. Hansen said that the 10th rib can be problematic even when it’s congenital and there’s a lot online to support that. I was just thinking that my whole ribcage seems inflamed. Some even consider a floating 10th rib to be a version of Slipping Rib Syndrome. Bottom line is, it’s worth a shot, even though I don’t think it’s going to help. Time is running out and I’m getting desperate.
I was looking back at old journals today. There was a lot of mention of flank and rib pain as well as stomach pain. In fact I was blaming it on the stomach for awhile. They say stomach problems are very common with SRS.