Yesterday, I was doing a few reasonably light paused deadlifts (beltless) for 10 reps at a weight I could possibly get an extra 2 or 3 reps out of, when I felt a small pop in my lower right rib area followed by a slightly painful sensation very similar to a stitch. I was stupid enough to continue my set off and finish off the following set straight after which obviously increased the pain.

Today it is still a bit tender whenever I take a deep breath, bend over to tie my shoe or just touching it. I can still train other movements just nothing which involves me bending over, pulling off the floor and bracing my stomach.

I was curious as to what it might be, how long it will take to heal and what could have caused it so I (and anyone reading this thread) can prevent it from happening in the future?

Thanks to anyone replying ðŸ˜€ 

@Matthew_Horsfall Hearing a pop followed by pain is never good. What it could be.. could be a number of things. But I'm not a doctor, and trying to diagnose it over the internet without having seen your form or yourself is tough. If it's still 'a bit tender', that doesn't sound too bad. But if it is really quite painful for a few more days, I'd say you need to go and see a doctor to get it checked out. It could be that you're literally popped a rib out of place.. or even a hairline fracture or something.

And saying what would have caused it is again tough to say without seeing your form.

Thanks for the reply Scott! It feels a lot better today. I read online I could have possibly had a pulled one of the muscles around my rib slightly. But it felt fine doing squats today so I will give it a couples weeks rest and see how I go.

@Matthew_Horsfall That's awesome man, because my next question was going to be whether the pain and/or pop was bone or muscle. Being muscle, it might have been a pull/strain, and if it's feeling a lot better today then hopefully just a little bit of rest and recovery will be all it needs! Just do your best to avoid anything that will make it worse, so be wary of it if you're still going to train.