Parents Tallish (lanky?) gymnast with hypermobile elbows - advice?

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momstrong

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I'm not sure if I should be worried about this or if she should or could be doing some extra conditioning to try and help with the issue? And her coaches haven't mentioned anything to me. I think she's been told before to try not to push her arms past straight/lock her elbows. For her, locking goes way past 180 degrees.

The reason I bring it up now is because I was at the gym for a little 1/2 hour lesson she was having to get her BHS/ROBHS back (since she's having a mental block/fear issue) and saw her actually hyper extend her elbow doing her BHS on the mats and it looked bad from the viewing area. I never watch so maybe it happens all the time and I'm not there.

She's been in rec for several years, but just moved over to JO level 3 this past summer, first meet this weekend! (she's 10)

I was trying to find a photo to see it, but I'm not sure if you can. Maybe I should just chill out and not worry... but if there are conditioning things to help it, I guess she should try that.

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My son, not a gymnast, has been diagnosed with loose ligaments. At his most recent visit to a hand surgeon bc he broke it over the summer, she cautioned us to make sure that he conditions and strength trains as much as humanly possible. Full body bc this affects every joint. Otherwise she said he is looking at a lifetime of stress and injury. While he is an athlete - soccer and squash - he doesn't condition at all and getting him to do so is painful. I have to imagine your DD is at similar risk especially bc of the weight she will be bearing on her hands and elbows. I'd take her to a PT or alignment specialist and get a training program you/she can institute to keep her safe.
 
My daughter is lanky with really long arms and elbows that hyper extend. Her fingertips hit well below her knees- in fact, in a handstand she is 6'6.5" tall! Her gym had to measure her once to make sure the ceilings over bars were high enough! Anyway, she's yet to injure her elbows, but she's older and always tells the coaches about the hyper extension. Maybe a quick chat with your DDs coaches about your concern?
 
My son, not a gymnast, has been diagnosed with loose ligaments. At his most recent visit to a hand surgeon bc he broke it over the summer, she cautioned us to make sure that he conditions and strength trains as much as humanly possible. Full body bc this affects every joint. Otherwise she said he is looking at a lifetime of stress and injury. While he is an athlete - soccer and squash - he doesn't condition at all and getting him to do so is painful. I have to imagine your DD is at similar risk especially bc of the weight she will be bearing on her hands and elbows. I'd take her to a PT or alignment specialist and get a training program you/she can institute to keep her safe.


Strength the muscles to assist in stabilizing the joints.
 
Absolutely! Now please tell me how to get a 14 year old whose mission in life is to do the bare minimum to condition. If you can figure out that magic secret, I will be your friend for life!


I have worked out since I was 14 now 49. My father used o work out with me when I was young. I think it was something i liked to do because I got one on one time with him. The workout was just body weight exercises, sprinting, and some deadlifting. Maybe you two can find half an hour 3 times a week to train together?
 
I'm going to talk with her coaches. I think just doing gymnastics and all the conditioning that goes with it, is probably really good for her. But it will be good to know about special things to keep in mind. Like yesterday she was told to rotate her hands slightly internally (if that makes sense) when going back for BHS.
 
My daughter is lanky with really long arms and elbows that hyper extend. Her fingertips hit well below her knees- in fact, in a handstand she is 6'6.5" tall! Her gym had to measure her once to make sure the ceilings over bars were high enough! Anyway, she's yet to injure her elbows, but she's older and always tells the coaches about the hyper extension. Maybe a quick chat with your DDs coaches about your concern?

I love hearing about taller gymnasts! I'm so sick of everyone saying she will get too tall, etc. How old and tall is your dd now?
 
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I just thought of this post tonight. My DD sent me a video of her on bars because she is the closest she's ever been to handstand and her elbows before her cast are freakishly hyperextended. So much so that two friends pointed it out to her and one friend to me.
 
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Ohmigosh!! She definitely has the same elbows! Is that okay? coaches aren't bothered by it?
Coaches aren't bothered by it, other than reminding her to *try* not to do it because it's one of a million deductions she gets on bars. Her elbows are generally straighter in her full routines, but her casts aren't as high either, which I find interesting. You can see here they're still *slightly* hyperextended at the apex of her cast (and yes, this is really high for her!).
 
Actually, come to think of it... maybe this has something to do with my daughter's overall disdain of BHS in general. She doesn't do them at all now that she doesn't have to. Not a one on floor or beam. She doesn't do front handsprings either. Hmmm.

Please tell me what she does to get around them. My DD is fine with them, except she can't right now bc of her wrists (HS, front and back, trigger her pain the most) and I was wondering if she needed to take another look at her floor and beam routines to consider work arounds.
 
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Please tell me what she does to get around them. My DD is fine with them, except she can't right now bc of her wrists (HS, front and back, trigger her pain the most) and I was wondering if she needed to take another look at her floor and beam routines to consider work arounds.
What level? My girl is only a L6. She does front tuck step out robt and roblo on floor, working ft step out roblo, ro back full, and front half for L7. On beam she does a RO and has the cw ro for L7. For vault she does a ro full, which she would keep for L7.
 
What level? My girl is only a L6. She does front tuck step out robt and roblo on floor, working ft step out roblo, ro back full, and front half for L7. On beam she does a RO and has the cw ro for L7. For vault she does a ro full, which she would keep for L7.

She's L7, repeating. Not sure it will work. Could it?

Last year she did RO BHS LO, FHS FT, RO BHS BT on floor
Beam was BWO BWO and a separate BHS. Dismount was hurdle, CW, BT

I know this year they were planning on having her do RO BHS LO half or full; FHS FLO (or she's now getting her FLO FT); RO BHS LO.
Beam BWO BHS and FWO. Dismount would be RO, BT or BP.
 
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She's L7, repeating. Not sure it will work. Could it?

Last year she did RO BHS LO, FHS FT, RO BHS BT on floor
Beam was BWO BWO and a separate BHS. Dismount was hurdle, CW, BT

I know this year they were planning on having her do RO BHS LO half or full; FHS FLO (or she's now getting her FLO FT); RO BHS LO.
Beam BWO BHS and FWO. Dismount would be RO, BT or BP.
It definitely *could* work. A BHS/FHS is definitely not a requirement in L7 at all. Whether the gym is flexible with whatever their requirements are is another story. My DD doesn't have the possibility of going past L7 at this point, but if she did she could also do whips to add to her backward repertoire. We make sure that we chose gyms with more flexible ideas though, because we knew going into this move that she didn't want to work BHS or BWO at all anymore.
 
It definitely *could* work. A BHS/FHS is definitely not a requirement in L7 at all. Whether the gym is flexible with whatever their requirements are is another story. My DD doesn't have the possibility of going past L7 at this point, but if she did she could also do whips to add to her backward repertoire. We make sure that we chose gyms with more flexible ideas though, because we knew going into this move that she didn't want to work BHS or BWO at all anymore.

Sounds like you're in just the right place. Our gym is both rigid and flexible. They try hard to push the girls toward the common tumbling passes, but if it just won't work, they'll adapt. I think the bigger issue will be my DD - whether she could get all the new skills this workaround would entail. I think first up will be seeing what she can and can't get back. We got her new wrist supports and hoping they help.
 

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