Is it likely (or even conceivable) that an injury to the rib
cage, which initially was not noticed as being significant,
could lead later on to a cracked rib as a result of an activity
that, in and of itself, shouldn't have caused a fracture?

I was rear-ended in an automobile accident in mid-September.
In addition to my main complaint (lower back pain), I had some
discomfort in my chest, presumably from being thrown against
the shoulder belt by the force of the collision.  The chest
pain mostly went away, although the back pain is continuing
(and FWIW, I'm having physical therapy for my back).  My
doctor checked out my chest but didn't notice anything worth
investigating further (e.g., no chest X-rays were done).

Last week (about six weeks after the auto accident), I was
leaning to one side in a way that put some pressure on the
lower right part of my ribcage.  I felt a sudden "thump"
sensation in my side, followed by a sharp pain which hasn't
gone away.  The pain in my side gets worse when I am in the
process of lying down, getting up, or taking a deep breath.
The pain medicine which I was already taking for my back, BTW,
doesn't seem to do very much for this new pain in my side.

I'm going to be seeing my doctor in the next few days about
this, but what I'm interested in knowing now is whether this
new injury (fractured rib, or whatever it turns out to be)
might reasonably be something I could have been set up for
as a result of the earlier, apparently much less severe chest
injury caused by the auto accident.

That is, is there any mechanism by which the auto crash could
have weakened or damaged a rib and made it more susceptible
to a later fracture -- whereas if I hadn't been in the first
accident, the second incident probably would not have resulted
in any injury at all?

Rich Wales            richw@richw.org            http://www.richw.org
*DISCLAIMER:  I am not a doctor.  My comments are for discussion pur-
poses only and are not intended to be relied upon as medical advice.