Hi, my DD is 7 and is training to Elite level in the UK. Her next competition is compulsory level 5 but there is a question mark as to whether she will be ready in time. Basically shortly after she started her gym trial nearly two years ago she came down with Whooping cough but it was undiagnosed to she suffered for three very long months with horrific bouts of coughing. Weirdly this has really impacted on her gym. She wasn't the most flexible gymnast to start with as she is very strong and powerful but the excessive coughing has caused her pectoralis major and particularly her pectoralis minor and lattisimus dorsi to completely tighten up. They think various other abdominal muscles are probably also overly tight now. She struggles to open her shoulders fully and it also affects how much she can open her hips as well. We're doing all the things we need to: physio exercises, stretching, massage etc but obviously it's a very long and slow process and all the time her peers are gradually progressing further and further forwards from where she is. She absolutely loves gym and is very strong mentally, has never cried, enjoys conditioning and giggles through her stretching bless her. My concern is whether it is something she is likely to get through and is it worth her giving up so much of her time to something that in the long run she will never be able to continue with due to the damage that's been done to her muscles. I wondered if anyone else has got through troubles with lack of flexibility. I don't want to stop her if she's enjoying it but I also don't want to see her gradually realise she's not keeping up and lose her confidence etc. Her coach is really supportive and says that he hopes her strength and power will help her overcome it but it will make any R&C routines very challenging for her so compulsory route may cease to be an option for her. Any encouraging experiences from other people would be much appreciated. Thank you