Manuel,
Your experience is a good warning that people should be careful when stretching. Good athletes and those drawn to "extreme" sports tend to want to push their limits but a good stretch is taking the muscles and connective tissue to their end points so those limits need to be respected and only gradually expanded.
I'll add to my description of the exercises above that in addition to the optimal method of doing 3 rounds of 30 seconds of the stretches it is best to make each round gradually more intense. You don't want to be going a hundred percent from the first moment.
In your particular case I would add that rib cartilage can also be slower to heal because there is usually no blood flow to the tissues, which facilitates healing. You will probably regain normal function a lot sooner then you will be able to regain freediving function, which is pushing the extreme end of your rib cage expansion.
All the best for your recovery,
Rob
Your experience is a good warning that people should be careful when stretching. Good athletes and those drawn to "extreme" sports tend to want to push their limits but a good stretch is taking the muscles and connective tissue to their end points so those limits need to be respected and only gradually expanded.
I'll add to my description of the exercises above that in addition to the optimal method of doing 3 rounds of 30 seconds of the stretches it is best to make each round gradually more intense. You don't want to be going a hundred percent from the first moment.
In your particular case I would add that rib cartilage can also be slower to heal because there is usually no blood flow to the tissues, which facilitates healing. You will probably regain normal function a lot sooner then you will be able to regain freediving function, which is pushing the extreme end of your rib cage expansion.
All the best for your recovery,
Rob