OOPS- Squats and rib cage goes "crunch"

[Safari]

Someone explain what I did:

I'm on the skinnyguy routine. I was pushing a couple reps at my fourth and last work set for squats...270 pounds, which is my maximum ever...I did it two weeks ago for 1 rep with no problems. For some reason it was heavier today. At the bottom of my first rep, I heard a "crunch"

My back is fine thank God. But now it feels like my ribs are compressed, especially at the sternum. It hurts to twist left or right at the torso. It's getting better already after just one day, and appears to be nothing serious, but I'd like to avoid this in the future as I had to quit for the day. My form is usually dead on, and the weight hadn't been too much prior.

 

[Gus]

You might have cracked or split your sternum slightly. I did this doing dips a couple years ago, and it still hurts occasionally. You might want to visit a doctor to get some pain medicine--it can be quite painful at times (especially if you live up north and it's frequently cold).

Maybe your grip was too wide which caused your chest to expand on the descent? If your chest is stuck out too far, maybe the weight on your back pushed your chest out even more, in which case your sternum is holding the weight instead of your back.

 

[EFFORT]

Did you warm up and stretch enough?

Do you do HEAVY AB work?

I would def have that checked out though just to be on the safe side.

 

[Safari]

I definitely stretch a lot before doing squats. I then do two light warmup sets before the four work sets.

Another day has passed and it's still feeling better. It hasn't been very painful, and I don't notice it at all unless I am twisting at the torso. If I just press on the sternum, I don't feel any pain.

I do only light ab workout, crunches, at the end of the routine.

My chest very well might have been out too far. What is the proper grip width?