Running in Okinawa

Today, as I was flying along the bypass on my bicycle, a truck darted out in front of me forcing me to slam on the brakes. A light rain was falling and the road was slick. After skidding along for twenty meters or so, I went down hard, my head hitting the asphalt first. Of course, I was wearing my helmet, so apart from destroying yet another helmet, I escaped serious injury. But when I came down on the bike, the upper part of the frame dug into my ribs. Thankfully, the car behind me stopped, thereby stopping traffic and giving me a chance to drag myself to the side off the road. The kind fellow even got out to pick up my glasses and to check that I was okay. In a daze, I somehow managed to get back on the bike and get home.

A couple of hours later I started to feel pain in the right part of my chest, just below the ribs. My wife took me to the hospital, and I had the doctor look me over. We also had a couple of X-rays taken. No broken bones. Just after the check-up, I started to feel dizzy and almost fell unconscious. They hooked me up to a heart monitor, and when they saw how low my heartbeat was, they went into a panic. The head doctor was called in, and they eventually figured out that my low heartbeat was only the result of my being a runner.

Turns out I have some bruised ribs, which apparently is not so different from having cracked ribs. The treatment is the same (i.e. nothing) as is the time it takes to heal (one to two months) and the pain. Coughing, laughing, and sneezing are extremely painful, so much so that my body won't even let me do these things. Sleeping is awkward, as I can only lie on my back, and getting up from that position is painful, too.

I've read up on this problem, but I can't seem to get a definitive answer on whether exercise is good or bad. Regardless, I plan on splitting the difference: no running, no situps or crunches, lots of cross-training (especially the stair climber and stationary bike), and some weight training (but only on machines, so as to avoid putting pressure on my ribs). Hopefully, I can stay in shape, avoid gaining weight, and not fall too far behind in my training.