Tough decision to make

[klunt]

I've been dealing with some some severe tendonitis pain in my left wrist. My mom says my only two options are work through the pain and condition(. My coach makes me condition when I can't stand the pain) or quit. I love gymnastics it's just that it's not that fun anymore with pain and having to condition mostly every practice for the whole day. I want to take time off but my parents say that they don't want to pay the money because I would be missing practice. If I take too much time off it will effect my best events greatly. Which are floor and vault. My wrist effects me on floor, pommel and mushroom, parallel bars and sometimes vault. I've been put in tears because the stress of deciding is so great. I don't want to quit at all but my mom is almost saying either quit or be in pain for the rest of your gymnastics career. What do you think about this.

 

[Faith]

If you were my child you being in constant pain is not an option. Gymnastics is not worth it, and however talented you are you are never going to reach your potential nursing an injury.

What does your Dr say first- will rest heal it? What does your coach say about a break? Will they still make you pay, if you arranged to take 6 months off?

My options would be either;
1. Quit, take a few months to heal, and find something else you love, track, cheer, weightlifting, swim, that won't aggravate your wrist. As a gymnast you'll be surprised how many options you have!

2. Take 6 months off completely, then see how your wrist is. If it heals and you can go back to gymnastics, fine.

3. If the above don't appeal, and you really want to continue gym, then arrange with your coach, in consultation with your Dr, to train a reduced schedule. Do conditioning, use the time to focus on your weaknesses and get in as good a basic shape as you can. But don't stay and condition for entire practice, do what you need to, then go home. Maybe try some cross training, swim, running, but most importantly get the wrist healed.

But no, I would never tell my child to train through pain. It's not doing you, or your gymnastics any good.

 

[wallinbl]

I don't want to quit at all but my mom is almost saying either quit or be in pain for the rest of your gymnastics career. What do you think about this.

Or the rest of your life. Many former competitive athletes, myself included, have chronic pain related to poor conditioning, "toughing it out", etc. Don't be one of us.

You don't mention anywhere in your post about a doctor. Go see an orthopedist or a sports medicine doctor. Make your decisions based on that, not anything else.

 

[skschlag]

I have taken my son to the doctor a couple of times for wrist pain. Usually a week off, and it is feeling better. He also sometimes wears a brace outside of the gym to "rest" it, although he doesn't do that often. I have bad wrists, and it seems he inherited them.

At practice, when he is wearign the brace, he is only allowed to swing, no support or tumbling.

I know several of the girls at the gym wear some kind of brace on their wrist (and I have seen older male gymnasts with them too) to protect their wrists.

Have you had it checked at all?

 

[my4buffaloes]

I would get a dr's opinion on all of this. My husband is suffering from tendinitis and he was told rest, ice and anti-inflammatories are really the only options. Usually a combination of those 3 will help. If you get a dr's appt with a note to take a month or two off then you should get the break you need and your parents shouldn't have to pay while you get your break. Having a break to heal could only allow you to come back stonger than ever. Having no break will only make the situation worse. Good luck!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

hurts my eyes to read that post. lots of communication going on there with the parent and coach...

 

[iwannacoach]

Having had tendonitis, and working with it during my collegiate days, I can't help but feel what you're through. I don't know about what's possible medically, but if nothing's changed since I was an athlete.......you have very,very little hope for an enjoyable gymnastics career by "gutting it out". I was treated with cortizone when first diagnosed, but resumed training way too early for it do do the job. I would ask you to see an ortho or sports ortho specialist, with one purposefull question......Is there any treatment that I can combine with a year off that can get rid of this problem.

Take that year off, use it to get involved other activities. Stay away from any sport where you have to use your wrist. At the end of the year, if you still want to, you may be able to come back to the sport with a better chance of survival.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

he also doesn't say how old he is. this would be useful info.

 

[klunt]

My coach is 22 I am 15

 

[Deleted member D3987]

what i think you should do now that i know your age is to have a simple wrist xray to rule out positive ulnar variance or PUV. you are at the age where you are starting to grow, and some of those changes can be subtle. you are describing pain to an event. it is those events that can cause PUV. so, ask your mom to take you to the Doc for that simple and inexpensive xray.

then get back to us.

 

[klunt]

It got worse. At gym yesterday on floor I was doing a round off back handspring double full and my bad wrist turned completely sideways in the back handspring. There was immediate swelling and lots of pain. Went to get an X-Ray and the doctor said I broke my radius in two and broke my 4th metetarsel and my scaphoid. Got put in a cast up to my elbow and will be out of the gym for 8 months. I'm devastated because I also got a slight Achilles tear on my right leg and possibly on my left. I'm a big injury magnet

 

[hawaii_gymnast]

I'm very sorry that you have an further injured yourself and hope you heal 100% as fast as possible. But take this as a lesson, that next time you are in that much pain listen to your body and rest, and go get it checked by a doctor and follow a rehab program by doctor or physio.

 

[cbone]

This is a little after the fact, but I recently started training in a different sport (mixed martial arts) and my old friend tendinitis came to visit. I got over it in three weeks with ibuprofen (before and after workouts), lots of ice and breaks whenever I needed them during training. It was a little humiliating to have to tell the instructor that I was taking a break despite his insistence that I "suck it up", but I was able to get past it by managing my workload. That may be tougher being younger in a gymnastics setting, but (as you can attest) being forced to "tough it out" leads to worse injury.

I wish you the best of luck on a speedy recovery.