Disclaimer said:
The following is not to be taken as medical advice, but it sure helps for my own regimen in trying to prevent new injuries.
Not the best forum for training advice but my personal advice, from my own experience is, be very careful.
Ribs and fractures to shoulder blades are not easy things to deal with and I have both myself.
I tore a muscle in my shoulderblade from moving a 15 kg box on a flat surface back in 1985, and since then every year or second year I get a terrible stiff shoulder and back.
It doesn;t help that I had to toss out a rude bloke from my house on day in the beginning of this millennium tearing a muscle between my ribs and getting a hairline fracture.
The two are namely connect under your armpit and it feels as if you're having a beginning cardiac arrest on really bad days, loosing feeling in two fingers and stuff.
Also, the fact that these muscles are located in direct relation to the muscles of your chest area, and breathing is something you cannot stop on command, it will take longer to heal since its moving all the time.
I also broke a collar bone during some martial arts training as a kid, and I broke it again after resting for 22 weeks. The problem with this is that once broken, a bone or ligaments get softer than they where before, and healing time is delayed even further as you grow older, or on repetitive injuries.
Even in cases as simple as sprains, there are a lot of things you can do to reduce healing time. If you ever sprain your foot when running, however silly it may seem, drop to the ground, get your leg up high and stay down on the ground for a good 20 minutes.
The immediately reduced blood flow, will not reduce the eventual swelling in your foot, but it will help reduce healing time from about 4 weeks to 2 weeks. Well worth anything if you pursuit a career as a runner.
a) Always stretch, before exercise or even before going to bed.
b) Also, when you're taking a shower, there are things you can do regularly.
Run alternating hot and colder water over a muscle or area you have problem with.
It works as stretching heat-up/cool-down but without the risk of motion problems.
Stretching is not about your muscles moving, but the blood circulation going through your muscles.
c) When you stretch, there is no purpose whatsoever in holding a stretched pose for more than 8 seconds. That's enough time for all your blood in your body to circulate through the muscles. Alternate, from stretched to relaxed will do you more good.
d) When you sit on a regular chair without arm rests try this...
Hold the chair seat with one hand and slowly and gently lean over to the opposing side of the chair. Holding your hand on the chair causes a bit of stretching, even at work.
Alternate and make sure you do both sides. You wouldn't want any exercise to lead to unbalanced muscles.
e) In particular important, DONT ever underestimate the forces of nature. Even a plastic bag with 2 pints (1 litre) of milk is enough to tear your ligaments if you're not careful.
When going shopping, pack the bags evenly and use two bags rather than one.
The same goes for handbags, gym bags and trunks... If it's not comfortable, try carry it as a backpack, dividng stuff evenly and high on your back.
f) Bend your knees when lifting. Anything else can twist you from your spine up and should be avoided. When you get older, it will affect your knees too for sure.
And finally, to people who are younger and crack their fingers...
You're snapping your ligaments over your bones and this can eventually lead to bad cases of arthritis, or even carpel tunnel syndrome.
All in all, the best all round advice you can get is;
"If it hurts, stop! No matter who told you to do it."
Good luck in your training and other daily stuff.
