Parents Season over prematurely

[Trixiebelle]

Wow - I'm sorry to hear this. Glad to hear your DD is taking it in stride and still finding plenty to love at practice.

My DD was diagnosed with the same injury early this past summer and had to take the whole summer off. From June until September the most she did was core conditioning, light running and lots and lots of flexibility training. Two areas were problems for her - very tight shoulders and tight hip flexors. Adding that to the back walkovers she did last year - Level 6 has them on the beam and floor- it was the perfect recipe for her injury.

Trixie's HC has been a huge help in her recovery - from working on a conditioning regimen during this summer to modifying her current training as well. She did her first bridge last week - the first in 5 months! Since DD's injury her gym has made some changes to their overall conditioning schedule as a result of Trixies injury. The number of back walkovers any girl does in practice has been limited, lots more flex training for all gymnasts and (this one is important for us) the coach spoke to the girls that with the hours they train now, they should not be doing skills outside the home. This is really a big one.

DD was so eager to do well last year that she did BWO and bridges constantly - everywhere she could, all the time. In the end, that with her lack of flexibility in her shoulders, caused her to overcompensate with her lower back and the perfect storm happened.

My last comment on this is to relay a conversation my Daughter had with someone she admires greatly. It was in September at an event called "Evolution" It's a gymnastics show of sorts run by Brent Klaus, son of the founder of IGC. IGC is a gymnastics camp in Pennsylvania that is a little slice of heaven for kids who love the sport. It was my daughters favorite place to go and she had literally counted down the days until she would be leaving in late June. She had to cancel this year due to her injury. Trixie walked up to Brent at the "Evolution" event and asked him for his autograph. She told him how much she loved his camp and how she missed going due to her injury this summer. Brent asked her what her injury was - his response was chilling to me. When she told him it was spondy - L5 Fracture - he shook his head and asked how old and what level. She told him and he said "Wow -you are way too young to have such an injury". She was 10, training 12 hours a week for L7.

I found great support in these boards as DD experienced this. A lot of info, advice and hand holding. I found that while the DR's prescribed many different regimens for recovery - PT, Tens Units, anti-inflammatory, bracing - the one consistent thing that all prescribed was time off to heal.

Wishing your little gymmie a fun filled time off and pain free return to the sport she loves.

 

[gymnut1]

Awesome post. You set out just what I would expect. Tight shoulders and hip flexors combined with huge amounts of backbends in and out of gym. BUT what a great coaches- not only have they recognised and helped her recovery through modifying her training program but they have looked at their own ideas and changed them. They obviously do not want this to happen again and are taking steps to prevent it. I think you can trust they have the children's best interests at heart and are prepared to learn and adapt as they go along.

I 'm glad Trixiebelle is loving her gymnastics and is healing well. Time is the great healer. Now she is level 7 she can limit her back walkovers and find other moves which suit her better. I'm sure Midget will be heartened to hear a positive story coming from the same injury.

 

[bogwoppit]

Wow - I'm sorry to hear this. Glad to hear your DD is taking it in stride and still finding plenty to love at practice.

My DD was diagnosed with the same injury early this past summer and had to take the whole summer off. From June until September the most she did was core conditioning, light running and lots and lots of flexibility training. Two areas were problems for her - very tight shoulders and tight hip flexors. Adding that to the back walkovers she did last year - Level 6 has them on the beam and floor- it was the perfect recipe for her injury.

Trixie's HC has been a huge help in her recovery - from working on a conditioning regimen during this summer to modifying her current training as well. She did her first bridge last week - the first in 5 months! Since DD's injury her gym has made some changes to their overall conditioning schedule as a result of Trixies injury. The number of back walkovers any girl does in practice has been limited, lots more flex training for all gymnasts and (this one is important for us) the coach spoke to the girls that with the hours they train now, they should not be doing skills outside the home. This is really a big one.

DD was so eager to do well last year that she did BWO and bridges constantly - everywhere she could, all the time. In the end, that with her lack of flexibility in her shoulders, caused her to overcompensate with her lower back and the perfect storm happened.

My last comment on this is to relay a conversation my Daughter had with someone she admires greatly. It was in September at an event called "Evolution" It's a gymnastics show of sorts run by Brent Klaus, son of the founder of IGC. IGC is a gymnastics camp in Pennsylvania that is a little slice of heaven for kids who love the sport. It was my daughters favorite place to go and she had literally counted down the days until she would be leaving in late June. She had to cancel this year due to her injury. Trixie walked up to Brent at the "Evolution" event and asked him for his autograph. She told him how much she loved his camp and how she missed going due to her injury this summer. Brent asked her what her injury was - his response was chilling to me. When she told him it was spondy - L5 Fracture - he shook his head and asked how old and what level. She told him and he said "Wow -you are way too young to have such an injury". She was 10, training 12 hours a week for L7.

I found great support in these boards as DD experienced this. A lot of info, advice and hand holding. I found that while the DR's prescribed many different regimens for recovery - PT, Tens Units, anti-inflammatory, bracing - the one consistent thing that all prescribed was time off to heal.

Wishing your little gymmie a fun filled time off and pain free return to the sport she loves.

Great post. You know that I know what this can lead to. My oldest can tell her sorry tale. Years of misdiagnosed back pain, 12 months of no sports, major back surgery and now sitting and healing, spondy is no joke. It all comes down to training in the end, no matter what anyone says.

Andrew I get that you do not want to hear this, but I do not think I have ever been anything but genuine to you, please look into this much further. Spondy does not mean the end of gym, but it is a big wake up call to look into the why's, twisitng into a BWO is one part of the puzzle, there may be a few more pieces. She will always be susceptable to a recurrance if all the issues are not addressed.

My DD will never be able to do gym again, never trampoline again and will never be able to do many of the things she loved, this has taken a whole year out of her teen years and frankly was horrible for her. With earlier detection and some coaching changes, things could have been very different.

 

[bookworm]

Trixie's HC has been a huge help in her recovery - from working on a conditioning regimen during this summer to modifying her current training as well. She did her first bridge last week - the first in 5 months! Since DD's injury her gym has made some changes to their overall conditioning schedule as a result of Trixies injury. The number of back walkovers any girl does in practice has been limited, lots more flex training for all gymnasts and (this one is important for us) the coach spoke to the girls that with the hours they train now, they should not be doing skills outside the home. This is really a big one.

DD was so eager to do well last year that she did BWO and bridges constantly - everywhere she could, all the time. In the end, that with her lack of flexibility in her shoulders, caused her to overcompensate with her lower back and the perfect storm happened.

My last comment on this is to relay a conversation my Daughter had with someone she admires greatly. It was in September at an event called "Evolution" It's a gymnastics show of sorts run by Brent Klaus, son of the founder of IGC. IGC is a gymnastics camp in Pennsylvania that is a little slice of heaven for kids who love the sport. It was my daughters favorite place to go and she had literally counted down the days until she would be leaving in late June. She had to cancel this year due to her injury. Trixie walked up to Brent at the "Evolution" event and asked him for his autograph. She told him how much she loved his camp and how she missed going due to her injury this summer. Brent asked her what her injury was - his response was chilling to me. When she told him it was spondy - L5 Fracture - he shook his head and asked how old and what level. She told him and he said "Wow -you are way too young to have such an injury". She was 10, training 12 hours a week for L7.

I found great support in these boards as DD experienced this. A lot of info, advice and hand holding. I found that while the DR's prescribed many different regimens for recovery - PT, Tens Units, anti-inflammatory, bracing - the one consistent thing that all prescribed was time off to heal..

To all that are being supportive, thank you. For those that feel they need to comment on everything else, I am sure you mean well. But frankly I am done. More and more on CB I see people second guessing everyone else constantly. That is not for me.

Sorry Midget's Dad but I take issue with your last comment..."for those who feel they need to comment on everything else"...it was you who brought the subject of your 8 yo Level 5 having a stress fracture in her back to this board and the comments you have received have been from parents who have been around the sport for a while and were just trying to be of help to you because if someone is telling you that it's a common injury, normal at her level and age, they're wrong...and that's what you didn't want to hear. The posters weren't commenting on "everything else", they were commenting on the issue you brought to them...

You should take note of Trixiebelle's post... her young daughter had this injury but her HC and gym reacted to it by changing their program and way of training so that it doesn't happen again. A great response...

 

[gymnut1]

Thank you bookworm. My thoughts exactly.

 

[Midget's Dad]

I think I will respond one last time because I cannot leave well enough alone.

1) Thank you Trixie. I really appreciate what you posted.

2) Apparently I got multiple conversations mixed (according to my wife) and this was not caused by any twisting motion. My bad.

3) Bog, I do not have any issues with you. You have been a wealth of information over the last few years.

4) The coaches, doctors, and parents involved (as in me) are all very involved. And her doc who is a top notch pediatrics sports ortho at Vanderbilt is the one stating that even at her young age these injuries are quite common. As in 1 in 5 have them AT HER AGE, though they are often undiagnosed or treated until much later. I trust him completely and figure considering his specialty he probably knows what he is talking about.

5) Yep, I brought it up and opened myself up to everything. Won't be doing that again.

6) Bookworm, you are argumentative at every frickin turn and YOU are the straw that broke this camels back. This thread is not the only thing that has been turning me off to CB lately but you pushed it right over the edge. The parent's community has turned into such a group of negative Nellys and are always second guessing everyone. I get that you mean well, I really do. But good Lord you all need to learn limits.

And on that note, good luck, so long, and farewell.

 

[cher062]

so sorry to hear this. Hope it heals soon and she is back to it soon.

 

[bogwoppit]

I think I will respond one last time because I cannot leave well enough alone.

6) Bookworm, you are argumentative at every frickin turn and YOU are the straw that broke this camels back. This thread is not the only thing that has been turning me off to CB lately but you pushed it right over the edge. The parent's community has turned into such a group of negative Nellys and are always second guessing everyone. I get that you mean well, I really do. But good Lord you all need to learn limits.

Midgets Dad you really cannot use this tone. Bookworm has many, many years of gym parenting experience under her belt and is only trying to help. I cannot see that she said anything worse than anyone else.Assuming you ever come back, this kind of thing is not okay. If you can show me where Bookworm has personally attacked you I will take action, but try as I might I haven't found it.

 

[bookworm]

6) Bookworm, you are argumentative at every frickin turn and YOU are the straw that broke this camels back. This thread is not the only thing that has been turning me off to CB lately but you pushed it right over the edge. The parent's community has turned into such a group of negative Nellys and are always second guessing everyone. I get that you mean well, I really do. But good Lord you all need to learn limits.
.

A back fracture at Level 5 would be concerning to me going forward...what is her training regimen that led to this? and are there more girls in her gym with similar injuries? My daughter had a back fracture ...but not until her third year of level 10...it took her a solid 12 weeks of resting for it to heal without sequelae..definitely take the 3 months to let it heal..

and the fact that it's an overuse injury in Level 5 is what would really concern me...my daughter had a stress fracture when she did it as well and was out the 12 weeks...[/QUOTE]


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I am responding to Midget Dad's Last post (even though he says he is leaving) because I feel like the facts need to be set straight ..my two posts above were posts # 10 and #12 , after that Midget Dad became defensive so I sat back and watched while other posters basically backed me up and said the same thing as me ( thank you all ) and then he went on a rant about me being the straw that broke the camel's back. I feel that the opinion I expressed that an 8 yo with a stress fracture at Level 5 was concerning but that it was not out of line or argumentative. I was just saying that it was something to consider, despite what he had been told, and if he didn't want further problems with her back down the line, rest was in order.

 

[mtbmom]

I agree with Book. Bottom line is it is not a common injury for an 8 year old level 5. I'd love to see the study conducted to come up with the numbers. If 1 in 5 (I think that's what was said) are getting this injury than we are all doing a grave disservice to our children.

Midget's Dad. You can take what others say and do with it as you wish, but I've found ALL of the parents on this thread to be sharing their experiences and/or expertise in the best interest of Midget. If you share about a child's injury on a public forum you are going to hear many posts that either agree with what you were told or have learned something different. No one is attacking you or being argumentative. Just trying to help. Especially those of us with direct experience or some medical expertise to know a different story.

I wish Midget a full recovery.

 

[Empowered]

Not sure where this doctor got the 1 in 5 but my research seems to indicate it is about 4-6% so 1 in 20 is more like it. Either way I found at least ten articles from orthopedists that said this type of injury was rarely seen in children under 10.

Many times as parents we don't like what we are hearing, but even if you disagree it doesn't mean you turn away. People are just offering advice. It is not a personal attack.

 

[emorymom]

I hope everyone stays. I like it that way.

 

[Pickle's Mom]

I hope Midget heals soon.

Pickle has also done some "coaching" for the developmental program with her old coach. She just loves it and the girls really respond to her. It's funny to listen to her and hear her current coach's voice come out of her little mouth.

 

[JBS]

I hope your daughter gets well soon.

As in 1 in 5 have them AT HER AGE, though they are often undiagnosed or treated until much later. I trust him completely and figure considering his specialty he probably knows what he is talking about.

I would be interested in seeing the stats on this one. I haven't read anything that is showing it this high:

A Patient

 

[Tumblequeensmom]

... great article.

 

[bookworm]

A Patient[/URL]

Great article...backs up the poster who said the rate of that injury for < 10 yo was in the 4-5% range (versus the 20% range)...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

wow! missed all the action here on this one too!

unless this 8 year old has early onset puberty, no way an 8 year old should have this issue unless something has gone amiss in training. like...a coach should know that kids should not be doing 3959674636865 back walk overs, front walk overs, flip flops, vaults, etc; on a daily basis.

1 in 5? no way. i have been proximally involved in these studies with my athletes over the years. 1 in 20 still seems high for pre-pubescent average age group.

 

[bookworm]

wow! missed all the action here on this one too!

unless this 8 year old has early onset puberty, no way an 8 year old should have this issue unless something has gone amiss in training. like...a coach should know that kids should not be doing 3959674636865 back walk overs, front walk overs, flip flops, vaults, etc; on a daily basis.

1 in 5? no way. i have been proximally involved in these studies with my athletes over the years. 1 in 20 still seems high for pre-pubescent average age group.

Thank you Dunno! Totally agree! ...and I was wondering where you were when this discussion was going on (your sage advice is always welcome!) because there's no way the numbers should be that high for 8 years old.

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

unless this 8 year old has early onset puberty, no way an 8 year old should have this issue unless something has gone amiss in training. like...a coach should know that kids should not be doing 3959674636865 back walk overs, front walk overs, flip flops, vaults, etc; on a daily basis.


My dd was 9 when she was diagnosed with 3 stress fractures in her back. 2 on L5 and 1 on L4. One was healed over and even though I had brought her in for back pain a year earlier to an orthopedic who "specialized" in gymnasts, she only took an x-ray and told me that her back was fine. (If I only knew then what I know now!!) Anyhow, the cause of her stress fractures was an over zealous conditioning coach who thought he was training TOPS and strapped 10 lbs of weights around her waist 5 days a week for an hour at a time. He had her lifting weights, doing leg lifts,etc. AND doing gymnastics all while having these weights strapped around her waist. She was a tiny little thing already- 10th percentile for weight. She had a high pain tolerance and was a people pleasing gymnast. She was finally carried off the floor by an assistant coach. Parents were not allowed in this gym. It almost ended her gymnastics career! When I confronted the coach and owner, they told me that maybe the backpack she carried to school was too heavy! She was out of the gym for 4 months. The other 2 girls that he conditioned like this were severely harmed as well. One had to have back surgery and have titanium rings inserted in her back and it eventually ended her career. The other one has had ongoing back problems even as a third yr. level 10. Mine was very lucky that with time out of the gym, proper physical therapy and relearning techinique, she has never had long term reprecussions. Of course we also switched gyms. This is serious stuff and should not be taken lightly!

 

[Faith]

unless this 8 year old has early onset puberty, no way an 8 year old should have this issue unless something has gone amiss in training.

I agree. I think if my 8 year old had any sort of back fracture directly related to gymnastics she would be out of there. *If* I ever let her back in a gym again it would be a) only when she was completely healed and b) It would me in charge of how much training and what training, in consultation with the doctor. If the coach didn't like it, tough.

1 in 5? no way. i have been proximally involved in these studies with my athletes over the years. 1 in 20 still seems high for pre-pubescent average age group.

All my years on and off in gymnastics and this forum is the first I've heard of this injury. I could swear I was always taught shoulder flexibility, not back flexibility, and I teach that way, most moves come from the shoulders or legs...

I have had a spine fracture, although a traumatic one, not an overuse one. It took a loooong time to heal, and has healed stiff- I've lost a lot of flexibility. And it had long term consequences- when I had my babies it was discovered I had a scoliosis in my lumbar spine from compensating for the fracture, which meant an epidural was extremely complicated. So after DD1's life-threatening section, it was recommended any future births needed to be elective sections.