Woman in Shanghai ends up with 4 broken ribs after spicy dinner

The New Paper
Dec 8, 2022

It can be called explosive, fiery, even deadly. But have you heard of spicy food breaking someone’s bones?

Going by the account of this woman in China, it can do that.

The Shanghai woman said in a Weibo post that a spicy dinner made her cough violently.

Then she heard a cracking sound and felt a sharp pain in the chest.

She was taken to hospital where a thoracic surgeon found that she had broken four ribs.

The woman, surnamed Huang, was advised to wear a brace and rest for a month.

On a follow up visit a week later, she was told that she was skinny and her upper body was weak.

From her height and weight - 171cm and 57kg - she appears to have a body mass index within the normal range.

But the doctor explained that she lacked the muscle strength to support her bone structure.

Ms Huang said she was advised to gain weight and strengthen her muscles with exercise.

After her fractures heal of course.