A rib fracture is when you get a forceful contact to the ribs and it will crack or break one of the ribs. It is a very catastrophic, painful injury. The symptoms for this injury is severe pain when breathing and tenderness on the touch. This is a common contact sport injury. Many quarterbacks have suffered this horrific injury. What happens is they take a huge blow from a linebacker or a defensive lineman to the ribs and it is an easy fracture. Cam Newton, Tony Romo, and Tim Tebow are some notable quarterbacks that suffered this injury. Some players make the wrong decision and play with these broken ribs. Tony Romo has played in playoff games and other big games. I picked too research this injury because it is a really common injury in the sport I play football. Protection is key to prevent this injury. Football players commonly wear flak jackets to protect ribs and kidneys. It is easy to protect the ribs, there are a lot of new things to protect them. You can buy compression shirts with pads around the ribs to protect them. Having a rib fracture develops pneumonia by 27%. That is the only real statistic listed anywhere. A rib fracture can be a pain during a healing process. It can take up to six weeks for a full healing on a rib. Players play with these injuries and it is a serious problem in sports.