The Management and Assessment of Pain Control in Rib Fracture With Non-invasive Stabilization: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Brief summary: Background: Rib fractures are one of the most common causes of trauma disabilities and have become an important health issue. Patients usually suffer from severe pain. A rapid and adequate pain control is considered as a priority to improve respiratory mechanics and reduce the risk of pulmonary and systemic complications. So far, there was no gold standard regarding pain control for rib fractures. Objective: To assess the effect of the newly-designed Prosthorax Thoraxbelt in addition to oral analgesics on pain control of rib fractures Method: There will be two groups of patients in this study. One group will be the patients with rib fractures who are necessary for in-hospital intense pain control. The other will consist of follow-up patients with rib fractures at an outpatient clinic. The investigators will aim to recruit 30 and 82 patients respectively.