Parents Stress at growth plate - Is rest the only option?

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Flounder

Proud Parent
I took my gymnast to an ortho today and that place was a cast factory. Everyone going in there was coming out with a cast. My gymnast doesn't have a fracture, but there is some stress from impact. I don't really understand and I wish I had asked more questions, but I was busy keeping her calm. We opted not to cast and go with a removable brace. The doc wants her to rest it completely for 2 weeks and get rechecked. She's freaking out b/c she just became eligible to compete in the next meet and it's in 4 weeks. We are pretty sure that two weeks of rest will make her miss the meet.

She's been taping her wrist at practice and doesn't have pain unless she does the skills without the tape.

Should I get a 2nd opinion (if I can - appts. are hard to come by)? Is full-on rest the only thing we can do? Would it be a good idea to go to a physical therapy place?
 
First, breathe, then repeat. Having been there, though not with that exact diagnosis, it's easy to get caught up in "my kid is going to miss a meet" thinking. But the real focus is on what is wrong and how to make it better, not just bandage it over. By all means get a second opinion. Take copies of x-rays/MRIs so the other doctor can review it, you don't want to wait to get the records sent. But you want to make sure that your daughter isn't making the injury worse. Take it from someone whose kid has aggravated injuries by ignoring them you really don't want to let her continue to practice on an injury that has the potential to cause a stress fracture in a growth plate. Those types of injuries have the potential to be life long.

Remember also, the next two weeks have many days where she probably wouldn't have practice anyway. She can likely still go in and condition and do leaps and other leg related work. So it's not a total loss and with all the holiday excitement will go by quickly.
 
When orthos deal with gymnasts, AND their parents, they always want to cast because they know what they are up against.......The cast prevents further injury, impedes the use, and gets the message across to parents that it is serious to have micro fractures in the growth plate......
YES, rest is the only option......Dont use the wrist for 2-4 weeks.....miss the first meet, focus on healing for the next meet....

just curious, how old and what level?

signed,
parent of a kid who has had,
avulsion ankle fracture
avulsion patellar fracture
broken wrist
wrist surgery
elbow tendinitis
severs
Osgood S.
 
If it's a stress reaction and not a fracture, it will probably resolve pretty quickly, but she needs to rest it. DS just went through this over the summer and had four weeks off. You don't want to mess around with growth plate injuries. Pay now or pay later with interest. There will be other meets.
 
OK. I get it. It was just heartbreaking to see her face when he told her she was going to have to stop tumbling. This was one of those great weeks where the things she had been struggling with finally started to click and she was so excited to tell us about it after practice. I hope the time off won't set her back too far (and, yes, I know it's better than the time she'd lose if she actually broke something). Thank you for the honest feedback.
 
Mine went through this over the summer (diagnosed with stress reaction on both wrists). We were told that she was right on the edge of developing stress fractures in both wrists. Stress reaction- restricted for 4 weeks. If it had been stress fractures, she would have been out for several months. After seeing what one of her teammates went through with stress fracture (out for almost 6 months), DD was more than willing to rest her wrists.
 
OK. I get it. It was just heartbreaking to see her face when he told her she was going to have to stop tumbling. This was one of those great weeks where the things she had been struggling with finally started to click and she was so excited to tell us about it after practice. I hope the time off won't set her back too far (and, yes, I know it's better than the time she'd lose if she actually broke something). Thank you for the honest feedback.

Don't worry. She will catch right back up with no problems as long as she takes the time to heal completely. You'll see!
 
DD is just level 3. Does that raise any red flags? It seems like other reports of this are older kids in higher levels.
 
DD is just level 3. Does that raise any red flags? It seems like other reports of this are older kids in higher levels.
How many hours does she do? How long has she been in gymnastics? Has she recently had a growth spurt?
 
She started the competitive team this summer coming straight from rec classes. She practices 9 hours a week. She's definitely taller than when we bought back-to-school clothing, but I'm not sure how much she has grown.

I do wonder if her practicing some tumbling at home (before the injury) may have contributed. She has a mat, but it's on hardwood and we were constantly reminding her that our area rug was not padded enough for her activities.
 
OK. I get it. It was just heartbreaking to see her face when he told her she was going to have to stop tumbling. This was one of those great weeks where the things she had been struggling with finally started to click and she was so excited to tell us about it after practice. I hope the time off won't set her back too far (and, yes, I know it's better than the time she'd lose if she actually broke something). Thank you for the honest feedback.
It is hard to see their disappointment when a 'hurt' becomes a much bigger deal than they are prepared to handle. In gymnastics unfortunately the reality is that any injuries must be taken very seriously and as parent we must manage it for our child.
All bodies handle the sport differently. Some kids make it to 15 yo with very minor aches and pains, others are young and begin having overuse injuries. It just means you must take care of her body.

I could have avoided many of those injuries I listed, had I taken them more seriously, and had a good coach that was educated on injuries, instead of just wanting to win.......
 
It's hard for them to miss meets, but better to show her now that she only has one body and needs to respect it. My daughter has missed a few meets due to injury over her years of competitive gymnastics. She survived. :) Make sure coaches don't have her push too soon. She has plenty of time to compete.

Also, not all coaches will allow Tiger Paws when they are young like she is. Wrist strengthening and making sure she's doing skills correctly are important though. Also, no tumbling outside of the gym!
 
To the OP, who knows.... Sure get a second opinion and don't tell them what the first Dr said. Some Doctors just cast everything in sight, seriously.... No break, no cast.... or save $500 and just stay off of it... going to the Dr will not speed up recovery or make it feel better, so just rest it unless it's broken then cast .
 
Also, no tumbling outside of the gym!

This

And rest it, do you want to risk long term problems over level three.

Back in college I sprained my ankle, doc said no weight on it three weeks, that is what I did, another kid on campus same injury didn't keep weight off. Their 3 weeks to heal turned into more like 8. I was back in business after three. Doc says rest it, rest it.
 
D had hers start at 9 as well in dominate hand wrist only. Ortho hand specialist did give brace but with limit of 4 hours a day. Rest is the best option or it will just keep coming back. One year later it still will flare up, mostly it seems with growth. Ice therapy a big key, ice twice a day to help with inflammation. She pulls out the brace to wear when it flares as well, during school hours. When it bothers she cuts down on repetitions especially all backward things on beam. Some kids get this once and it never returns, some guess until growth plate closes will just be a thing to deal with. Tiger paw has helped a lot, she only wears one for vault and floor, tapes on beam always. Take the two weeks to have her rest, it will get better. Oh strength exercises did not seem to do much as it is really due to hyperextenion of the wrist due to over flexible wrists ( per ortho hand specialist).
 
Mine -- 12-years old, level 8, just had a large growth spurt -- is dealing with the same thing. She already missed the first meet of the season, but hopes to be back for the second in three weeks. She's been out for six weeks or so, but has been cleared to start easing back in over the past week. She had removable aircasts for a few weeks as her doc is an ex-gymnast and thought she might need a physical reminder to stay off them. She's doing physical therapy and not only are they strengthening her wrists, they found she wasn't using the right muscles in certain movements, and have given her exercises for other muscles (shoulders, etc.) too.
 

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