![](https://www.interactivehank.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Screenshot-2014-09-16-12.46.25.png)
I (was at the time of this post) a healthy 53 year old man. I feel physically fit and capable. I had never broken a bone as far as I know. That is until I had children.
In the last four years I have cracked, sprained, or possibly broken two or three ribs. On two occasions and both times at a children’s playground.
The first time I was coming down a slide with Luke and it got out of control a bit much, I aborted the slide in an effort to keep from crashing my child and landed my back square onto a rounded plastic corner of the slide at full speed. It resulted in a fractured or broken rib, I was buckled over in the worse pain I have ever experiences in my life and my rib cage turned purple. It was both tragic and comic as the best things in life always are.
![](https://www.interactivehank.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/630px-Treat-Bruised-Ribs-Step-3-Version-2.jpg)
Cut to approximately three years later and I am standing at the park, minding my own business having just had a fun texting interchange with a good friend. I turned and my right calf caught on the cement bench that was right behind me, just enough to throw me off balance. That sent me backwards in a twisting position, the bench made it impossible for me to catch my fall and I landed full force straight onto a steel rail at hip level directly on my left side rib cage. This time I heard a distinct “crack crack”. I had indeed fractured or broken two ribs this time. I buckled over in pain, unable to breath, blacked out and stayed that way for about 60 seconds. Excruciating to say the least.
I feel much better now after following the suggested info graphic from a WikiHow page on broken ribs
So, just to put this together. The grown man, 53 years old, never broken a bone in his body UNTIL HE HAD CHILDREN!, breaks multiple ribs on two separate occasions, both times at a childrens playground. Yup, that’s just about it.