DD has shown Sever's who's boss!

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Last Friday 8yo dd began her 3rd Sever's flare up since September. That was the beginning of what has become a mind boggling growth spurt- 7" in 18 months. After her first heel pain issue, her pediatrician ordered x-rays to be sure there was no underlying problem, diagnosed it as a sprain, and ordered RICE. A week later she was fine. After the second flare up the Dr. had a phone consult with a sports medicine doc and explained the possibility of Sever's. I contacted the same doctor who provided me with wonderful info.

Last week the pain began again- typical issues with tumbling and vaulting, no issue with dance, beam or bars at all. She started taking Oscon (pierced the gel cap and put foul smelling contents into a well in a spoonful of peanut butter,) Saturday, began wearing only running shoes outside of gym and Cheetahs when tumbling and vaulting in gym, and did a series of 6 stretches 2-3 times a day beginning over the weekend. On Monday and yesterday she had me bring her to gym a few minutes early so she could do her "special" stretches prior to warm-ups. She has been icing on her own and has also been rubbing Tiger Balm into her Achilles. All of this on her own. I adore the sport, but I told her that if she stopped gym that the pain would likely go away. This was NOT an option. She made herself a list of stretches and goes through it 2-3 times a day on her own.

On Monday, she was still in pain and did not tumble. Her coach told her that because there was a meet this weekend that if she was unable to tumble last night that she would be scratched from floor. ( Due to safety issues from lack of training, not from control or heartless issue- Coach understands Sever's.) This devastated my dd. We talked at home about how she could only control herself, and not the coach, and I went on to explain that I understood that she hurts, but I do not understand how much. I told her that if she felt able to tumble through the pain that it would not cause any injury unless she was over compensating with her right leg. (Pain is on left heel.) It was apparent to me that she was stuck in her head about all the potential negatives. We worked that out by asking her if she trusted her coach, her training, and her body. She does. I asked what was the worst thing she could imagine happening if she tumbled. She did not say anything about more pain- she said she was most afraid of doing an "ugly" tumbling pass because of pain, not incurring more pain. We talked about visualizing and she told me that she envisioned herself rebounding higher than ever before. I smiled.

Last night I offered some ibuprofen before we left for the gym, which she accepted. DD asked me to stay for practice, which I did. It was apparent she was getting back into her worst-case-scenario-head game. I kept it positive and told her I was super excited to watch her super high rebounding tumbling pass just like the one she envisioned. I reminded her to control her mind as well as her body and explained that a conditioned mind is super important in the sport, gave her a hug, and told her to have fun at practice.

The hours went on.....conditioning, bars, beam- only 30 min left of practice and I was about to fall asleep when FINALLY the group wandered over to floor. The girls started their tumbling drills- round offs first. She did a beautiful one and then went to talk to coach. Uh oh... DD then went back to her line, the girls did another round off, but when dd went she did the most beautiful RO BHS I have ever seen her do- with a HUGE rebound! Everything straight and tight and shoulders open and easily a full 3 feet of air on her rebound! The smile on her face was reward enough for anyone. She then went off to the side and did a few stretches, shook out her ankle and joined the group again for a couple more.

After practice- after the "Good Job," I asked what she said to her coach. DD told me that it hurt and she asked coach if she could do a tumbling pass immediately and not warm up any more round offs, since that is what seems to hurt She knew if she could just focus on the pass being completed that her relief would overshadow any pain, as opposed to the "let down" of just doing a round off that hurt. She wanted to waste no time showing her coach she was competition ready.

On the way home, DD told me she was proud of herself. I am sure other parents would not understand and think- "so what? your dd did a level 4 tumbling pass? big deal." The big deal is that an 8 year old has learned how to look at a challenge, weigh her options, implement a plan to overcome that challenge, communicate openly about her challenge, become motivated and determined, and succeed. She knew she had a job to do and she did it with no excuses and while advocating for herself and her needs. I am so pleased that this sport has enabled my DD to find her "voice" so early in life.

I'll keep you posted on how her meet goes this weekend!
 
not sure that how she does this week end will change what i read above or her "voice". what you described above is palpable for me as a coach. i'm sure other coaches will feel the same :)
 
This choked me a bit. How wonderful for your dd. And thank you for sharing this, it is just what I needed right now.
 
Good for her! Hope she has a terrific meet. It is awesome that she is able to talk to her coaches like that. I always tell my kid she needs to speak up for herself and her body because coaches don't know what she is feeling. It is still hard for her sometimes, but she is getting better at it. That "skill" will serve your little one well in gymnastics and life!
 
DD did fantastic yesterday! After warm ups she decided she was not going to wear her Cheetahs for FX because they "pulled" during her split. I think that was a good choice because she posted her highest FX score of the season! I'll post details in meet report section. Thanks to all for the good thoughts.
 
I decided to read this because it was about Sever's. My 13 yo DD struggled with that for about 9 months. She competed level 8 states in so much pain last year that she teared up after each event. Her pain was in both heels. We finally decided on the Oscon after PT and rest, ice, ibuprofen, ect. I would say she was better within 2 weeks and has had no re-occurance! Just a caution, her ortho Dr. said it was ok to use for a month or so but not as a consistent because the vitamin E can cause problems if they get too much.

Anyway you DD story was so encouraging and really shows that gymnastics is such a powerful sport in so many ways. Best of luck to her in the future. And continue to be the wonderful supportive parent. You really seem to allow her to become her own person!
 
I'm going to show your story to a friend, she has a child battling Sever's, although he's in basketball. It's a great inspiring story! I'll be rooting for her too
 

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