The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] I fell in a roller skating accident and hit the left side of my chest against a steel post/railing three months ago. I heard a crunch and the wind was knocked out of me. I did go to er and they did xrays. They said nothing was broken and lungs/heart fine. It has been three months and I still have pain when I breathe deep or sleep on that side. Can internal bruising last this long?
[|AI|]  Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. In my opinion, you are having pleural thickening at the site of injury. Blunt chest trauma can cause pleural inflammation without rib fracture or Pulmonary contusions. So this pleural inflammation after healing produce thickening pleura at the site of injury. This thickened pleura cause pain on friction while breathing, talking, coughing etc. So this is normal healing and hence no need to worry much for this pleural thickening and pain. You can apply warm water pad on affected site. Gradually over time this pain will subside. You can take painkiller occasionally, for pain relief.
