Parents clicking elbow....OCD risk???

[munchkin3]

Hello!
So my DD and I were working out and she was doing push ups and I noticed her elbow cracks on every push up on one elbow.
I asked her what was up, and she said that it only happens when shes doing push ups and it can be bothersome. I asked if it hurts and she said sometimes and then she just stops doing them.
I asked if it hurts when she does gymnastics and she said no that it dosent hurt when shes doing gymnastics, only the push ups.
I have an appointment already just to be sure- of course my mind goes straight into panic mode about OCD of the elbow. How does OCD start? Would this be an indication?

 

[John]

Crepitus? If it just made a noise with no pain I'd say no worries. She indicates it hurts sometimes so I would think that means ask the doctor.

 

[Pea'sMom]

We're just on the tail end of Pea recovering from OCD. Our experience was that Pea had absolutely no complaints about her elbow before she had a slip in the backyard goofing around with her brother. Apparently it was lurking there and her fall broke a chunk of bone loose causing her to be unable to bend or straighten it. I know after reading and talking with her doctor about it that general elbow pain, clicking and locking are common precursors to diagnosis. My understanding is that there is no rhyme or reason as to why some get it and not others (aside from the pounding they do daily ) I will say that the few people we have met that also have it are hyper extenders in the elbow, Pea included, but I don't believe there is any proven link. For diagnosis Pea did need an MRI, and a specialist to diagnosis it. Her regular pedi-ortho was unable to diagnosis it. Definitely best to get it looked at since it's a known issue with gymnasts, and you want to catch it before anything breaks loose.

 

[munchkin3]

yep. will do. Hows Pea doing? Is she back in the gym? did she have surgery?

 

[Pea'sMom]

yep. will do. Hows Pea doing? Is she back in the gym? did she have surgery?

She's doing good, been quite the trooper. She did have surgery (3 actually.) Once bone/cartilage breaks there is no other option. Her first surgery was to clean up the fragments and screw the bone and cartilage back together. That ended up failing (it was borderline in size for this repair.) Her second surgery removed the screws and the now dead cartilage. He did some drilling to stimulate new cartilage growth. We switched orthos at this point and her third surgery, by the new Dr, was to check it out up close. Pea was very lucky and apparently can grow some super scar cartilage! This was in November. He cleared her for PT in December and she has been back to gym following a modified schedule and protocol from the Dr. She's been working really hard and has gained a lot of her skills back. Form and strength are a work in progress. Her biggest stress going back to gym was not being able to kip Good luck and feel free to PM me if you need any more specifics etc!

 

[flyinghigh]

Ugh, yes get it checked out. I hope it’s not OCD. My daughter has successfully recovered from OCD in her elbow. The process is loooong. She had pain in her elbow with bhs, especially on beam, push ups, etc. finally got it checked out. Yep. OCD. She couldn’t use her elbow for 8 months but successfully cleared it with conservative management which is not in the norm. She is now back to gymnastics (actually, never took a day off, just tumbled with one arm). She is still limited to no bhs and limited push ups but he learned to modify.

Good luck.

 

[meganliz77]

The gym that I attend (not gymnastics - I mean, just my gym) I work with several personal trainers. They have us only do pushups with tight elbows to our sides that come up behind the back. They tell us that is so we don't injure our elbows. It makes the pushups much more difficult and supposedly more effective. I noticed that my DD does regular old pushups for conditioning, but she cannot do as many with the form that I have been taught as she can with elbows out. Maybe have her try them with different form -- after getting checked out at the doctor of course.

 

[John]

If done with the correct form:

Pushups with elbows out primarily work the pectoralis muscle group, the chest.

Pushups with the hand close and elbows in primarily work the triceps, back of the arm. These are indeed harder and the muscle group is not as strong as the chest.

 

[flyinghigh]

The gym that I attend (not gymnastics - I mean, just my gym) I work with several personal trainers. They have us only do pushups with tight elbows to our sides that come up behind the back. They tell us that is so we don't injure our elbows. It makes the pushups much more difficult and supposedly more effective. I noticed that my DD does regular old pushups for conditioning, but she cannot do as many with the form that I have been taught as she can with elbows out. Maybe have her try them with different form -- after getting checked out at the doctor of course.

Tight push ups is what bothers my dd’s elbow while had OCD. She needs her arms far out or it puts stress on elbow more. This is why she can’t do bhs on beam without pain. Too close together

 

[John]

Tight push ups is what bothers my dd’s elbow while had OCD. She needs her arms far out or it puts stress on elbow more. This is why she can’t do bhs on beam without pain. Too close together

This makes sense as the triceps insertion point is the Olecranon process, the tip of the elbow.

 

[flyinghigh]

This makes sense as the triceps insertion point is the Olecranon process, the tip of the elbow.

Makes sense. I never understood why since she’s been cleared of the OCD for over a year now and still can feel some elbow pain with tight push ups and bhs. The pain is not really pain but she says she “feels something”

 

[Pea'sMom]

This makes sense as the triceps insertion point is the Olecranon process, the tip of the elbow.

Interesting, one of the things Pea has been struggling to get back is a back roll extension, it still 'hurts' her. I'm guessing it's because it's the same pushing up, elbows in move. She moved her bhs to the beam last week with no pain though!

 

[John]

Yes sounds like its the flexing that causes pain, not straight arm bracing. So many things can go wrong with the elbow. I read your post on her surgeries, she is some tough girl. I would think her doctors could lend you an opinion on the reason the elbow pain continues. Is it something she may have to contend with for a long time? Sorry, she has to deal with the pain and the surgeries.

 

[Pea'sMom]

Yes sounds like its the flexing that causes pain, not straight arm bracing. So many things can go wrong with the elbow. I read your post on her surgeries, she is some tough girl. I would think her doctors could lend you an opinion on the reason the elbow pain continues. Is it something she may have to contend with for a long time? Sorry, she has to deal with the pain and the surgeries.

She is one tough cookie! She's proud of her scars, and when the last Dr offered to do some scar remediation while he was poking around she said no way! Dr isn't concerned with some pain, it's actually part of the protocol he has given her. It has leveled steps and with each step if there is any pain or discomfort to move back a step for another week. My understanding is that it's actually still healing and he anticipates it will take her until summer to get back to where she was. The other component is muscular, she has a lot of atrophy to work on. She hasn't been weight bearing since last January. He has been very happy with her progress and is under the impression that she wont' have any long term issues or pain, not even arthritis. I trust his opinion, he works with professional athletes in our area. Doesn't take insurance though

 

[John]

Ouch, No insurance!!!!!!!!

 

[Pea'sMom]

Ouch, No insurance!!!!!!!!

You're telling me! Luckily it's just him, the surgery faculty etc took our insurance So it's just his bills and we are lucky to have good insurance with out of network benefits. It was a heck of a year and I know she's happy to have it behind her. She's been so happy coming back from practice!

 

[John]

Happy = YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[munchkin3]

Just an update.....took her to the sports, pedi-ortho and he said we are good. He determined all her joints are very noisy, and he said some people are just ‘crackier’. Also, he said that in her case, the painful cracking can Be elicited sometimes, but not everytime so that means it’s much more benign. Either way, he gave me a script for an MRI and said if the pain is still there in a few weeks after the seasons over, we can check into it further.
So far so good.....no real Limitations other than an overprotective mom......

 

[duyetanh]

Just an update.....took her to the sports, pedi-ortho and he said we are good. He determined all her joints are very noisy, and he said some people are just ‘crackier’. Also, he said that in her case, the painful cracking can Be elicited sometimes, but not everytime so that means it’s much more benign. Either way, he gave me a script for an MRI and said if the pain is still there in a few weeks after the seasons over, we can check into it further.
So far so good.....no real Limitations other than an overprotective mom......

HALLELUJAH!

 

[Pea'sMom]

Just an update.....took her to the sports, pedi-ortho and he said we are good. He determined all her joints are very noisy, and he said some people are just ‘crackier’. Also, he said that in her case, the painful cracking can Be elicited sometimes, but not everytime so that means it’s much more benign. Either way, he gave me a script for an MRI and said if the pain is still there in a few weeks after the seasons over, we can check into it further.
So far so good.....no real Limitations other than an overprotective mom......

That's great to hear! Very happy to hear she's just noisy