Parents Broken pinky--can she make it to State?

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LuckyMommy

Proud Parent
DD broke her pinky on her non-dominant hand. Required surgery 4 days later, inserted 2 pins, did not affect the growth plate. State competition is 5 weeks after her injury. Cast comes off about 12-13 days before she would compete. DD has missed the last THREE years of State for various reasons. She is beyond devastated and other things in her life are very very hard right now (grandparent with brain tumor and other sad events). If there is any way she can safely do even one event, she wants to. She doesn't care about her score, she just wants to participate in some way. She is a Level 5.

We will consult with a sports doctor who treats other gymnasts after the cast comes off in 2 weeks. But I'd love to hear what other people have experienced.

Thanks so much!
 
I want to say "It's just a pinky" ... she should be fine.
Of course, see what the doctor says.
I would think that beam (only mount, HS, BWO or BHS, and dismount) and / or vault should be ok at least.

I have broken my middle fingers (both of them, a few times each throughout the years)... and I was able to play in a football game 2 weeks after recovering from the first (dominant hand middle finger) break - as a quarterback.
And when I sliced my index finger during high school, the day I got my stitches removed, I was able to go to school and do "some" tumbling in gym class - I was just told by the doctor to stop if there was pain or blood or it looked like it was starting to separate again, lol.
 
It really isn't just a pinky. 33-50% of grip strength comes from the pinky! I cringe when I hear people assume it isn't a big deal, especially for kids.

I can only tell you my son's experience and that of two of dd's teammates. Broken pinkies for all 3. Growth plate for two, not for the 3rd. Surgery for none. 3 weeks in a cast for two. 5-6 weeks for one (her finger was pointing sideways). All of them had two weeks before being allowed back to any tumbling or equipment.

I know that isn't what you want to hear. I know it sucks. My son's pinkie break was 1.5 weeks before his first state meet.
 
My DD had fracture in two places in her pinky that affected the growth plates. In cast for 4 weeks. Slow return after that, but she was done with her season and starting summer training. Very different situation. Best of luck to your DD!
 
Im so sorry :( injuries are so frustrating. Thinking about the 5 routines I would agree that beam is probably the best option. Good luck. I hope she is able to compete something.
 
Gone through the same thing, although DD broke her pinky finger days before her comp. Even without surgery or affecting growth plate, it's at least a 5-6 week recovery time all being well. DD is 3 weeks post fracture and she's learning how to grip again now and she can't straighten it yet either.

Doc reckons she'll be back to normal by the end of this month now she's had buddy taping removed, but doesn't take into consideration the fear she may have about landing on her hands during tumbles :(
 
This is not medical advice, just my personal opinion. It is not worth the risk. She needs use of that hand for the next 70 years or so. It really is a bummer and hard for her, but bones heal well given appropriate healing time. It wasn't a minor thing if it required surgery and pins. Gymnastics and all sports provide so many valuable lessons to carry into adulthood. If it were my kid this one would be patience and keeping sight of long term goals. Good luck with whatever you decide is best for her situation, injuries are so hard.
 
My daughter broke her non dominant pinky finger this past summer. She was out for 6 weeks in a brace. It was still swollen and sore after the 6 weeks. It did take her a little time to get back in the swing of things. You don't realize how much you use your pinky finger until you can't do something. Hopefully she has a quick recovery time.
 
My daughter had the same injury, but ring finger on dominant hand. She had surgery to place two pins and had them in for 3 weeks. She had physical therapy after that. It took a good 6-7 weeks for her to be back to 100%. She did regress in skills, especially on bars, but she was training level 7 at the time.

I guess, it depends on the kid?
 
Im definitely finding that bars the hardest to rehab with upper extremity injury. My DD is 2.5 weeks out of her cast (6 weeks in it for broken wrist through the growth plate). Im pleased overall with her rehab so far but bars is going to be the beast. On Wed her coach let her vault on the real vault table for the first time and scored her at a 9.15! Right where she was before the injury. Super excited about that. Shes doing her whole lvl 6 beam routine but needs spot on the BWO b/c she is putting more weight through her "good" arm and its throwing the balance off. Shes doing both of her lvl 6 tumbling passes on the "squishy floor" ( what my DD calls its) its more like floor than the tumble track but not exactly the real floor. Yay for all that ! But bars... she is barely doing a kip and some tap swings. Says she feels like she cant grip in the tap swings.
Good luck! Let us know what the doctor says.
 
OP following up: So here we are, 5 weeks post-injury, 4 1/2 weeks post-surgery. DD still has a splint on her finger. She cannot bend the finger normally. She starts PT on Monday, and hand surgeon said it will be another 3 weeks before she is allowed to put weight on that hand or use it. L5 State is tomorrow, and we knew 2 weeks ago that State was not going to happen. The important thing for us is that DD came to that conclusion on her own after we spoke with the hand surgeon and a sports ortho who treats college gymnasts. DD determined that it was not smart or safe to risk it (putting aside whether she physically COULD do it, this was more about her reaching that emotional decision on her own). She has done some conditioning at gym, but stayed away this last week during the push for STATE STATE STATE. I just hope that we are DONE with major injuries, two in one year has been devastating, and it's probably not a coincidence that they were both on the left arm. 5 months total of casts/splints on her left arm/hand. In between injuries she learned BHS on beam and was scoring high 34s AA, so we know that recovery is possible, even though those scores were a good 2 points lower than pre-injury. She still wants to move into optionals, which now would be spring of 2017. She'll be older than the other girls at age 13, so we'll see if her interests change in the meantime. Whatever makes her happy, strong and confident is okay with us....unless it's hanging out with boys, in which case it is back to the gym with her!!
 
Thank you for posting an update as this bumped this thread for me. My dd just fractured 2 fingers (middle & ring) on non-dominant hand (but dominant gym hand) on Monday. Her first meet is in 2 weeks (Nov 21) and another meet 2 weeks later (Dec 5). I am sure she will be out for both of those.

But hearing these stories makes me feel a bit better about her chances of getting back in time for her third meet on Jan 9 and even more confident about her chances of competing the 4th meet at the end of January.

It is so hard to see our kids working so hard only to miss out because of an injury. Best of luck to you, OP, and your dd!
 

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