I just went thru an intercostal injury. Most are strains not really tears. Here is a recipe for dealing with it... Go to a doc to make sure you haven't fractured a rib, if not they will probably Rx physical therapy. This consists of ultrasound, neuromuscular massage, heat/cold packs, stretching and over time strength improvement (using resistance bands). Mine took 8 sessions, in total about 3 months with no golf. Got back in the game slowly with a few trips to the range, hitting very few balls (30-50). My original injury was when I hit 350 one afternoon, not so smart. When recovering, I took 400-600 mg ibuprofen plus an OTC ppi to deal with reflux about 2 or 3x per day. And the more sleep (on your back) the better. You do not want this to be a recurring injury, and you have to be committed to full healing. Let me tell you, it's a lot slower to get to 100% than I thought. Hope this helps!