Parents Back pain- what to limit while waiting for appointment?

[Amanda]

My 11 y/o dd had some back pain last year- especially with extensions. We went to an ortho., she had an MRI which was totally clear, and then she did physical therapy. She's been diligent about continuing the back and core exercises the p/t recommended and she's limited the amount of BWOs and limbers that she does in practice. Her back has been relatively pain free. She's only L4 and has 15 hours of practice a week. She said it started hurting last night while working cast to handstands at practice. She says its lower back- mostly one side and primarily when she bends over. She says its not terrible but definitely noticeable. I'm paranoid about back injury- probably from reading on chalk bucket! I already made an appointment with the ortho. but it is over a week and a half away. Any suggestions about how to handle practice in the mean time? I know she should probably avoid BWOs and limbers completely. Anything else? And I'm going to tell her to pay attention to her pain and avoid things that make it worse. I will also talk to her coach. She is hoping to score out of L4 in just over 2 weeks so the timing isn't great. I am hoping that I am overreacting!

 

[sce]

She should avoid anything that causes her pain. Seriously, if she starts something and it hurts, stop.

 

[IreneKa]

No back extensions of any kind - bridges, walkovers, back handsprings, etc. And no working on CHS, if it hurts, then she probably arches too much.

 

[nycgymmom]

I would just stop my daughter suffered same on L4 and was out the whole season. A week isn't much to wait for appointment.

 

[Amanda]

I would just stop my daughter suffered same on L4 and was out the whole season. A week isn't much to wait for appointment.

I know it's not that long. The tricky part is that her meet is just a couple of days after her appointment. It's her first travel meet and she is hoping to score out. She is off season and this is an extra meet for the purposes of scoring out. She probably won't have the opportunity to do that for another 4 or 5 months. I have a feeling we might not even know anything after the appointment but will likely have to wait for an MRI- not sure they will even want to do one since she had one 9 months ago. I know in the long run, one meet isn't that big of a deal, but it feels like it is to her right now! We talked to both of her coaches last night and she can sit out on anything causing pain. She said the only thing that hurt a little was running. I might keep her out of a couple of practices or pick her up early. It's so hard for me to make these calls! I totally obsess about it- even thought I know that's not helpful!

 

[Amanda]

Called the ortho. twice today and they had a cancellation and she can be seen tomorrow! Thanks for the responses. Hoping for some good guidance tomorrow!

 

[nycgymmom]

Called the ortho. twice today and they had a cancellation and she can be seen tomorrow! Thanks for the responses. Hoping for some good guidance tomorrow!

Awesome! Keep us posted praying for good news.

 

[Amanda]

Awesome! Keep us posted praying for good news.

Thank you! I really appreciate it!

 

[Amanda]

So dd saw the orthopedist this morning. He is a spine specialist. She had zero pain when bending over to touch her toes and standing back up (which wasn't the case a couple days ago.) He did a series of X-rays and they were completely normal- which I anticipated. Because she had an MRI 9 months ago and wasn't experiencing pain this morning, he didn't think an MRI was necessary. He really doesn't think she has an injury at this point. He did offer p/t which we will do. I think it would be good to have her assessed again and update her stretches and exercises. I really pushed him on whether she should be limiting certain things in practice or if she should sit out completely for awhile. He said to just let pain be her guide and to come back if the pain doesn't resolve in a month or if it gets worse. He said we could consider a bone scan at that point. The appointment was somewhat reassuring but I don't feel completely in the clear. I told my dd, I still want her avoiding extensions and things that might cause her to arch for now and that I really want her paying attention to her pain and be willing to communicate to her coaches. I am probably most encouraged by her lack of pain right now.

Of course he also said that if she isn't really passionate about gymnastics, we might encourage her to do another sport! That didn't really fly with her. . .=)