Parents Ankle injury recovery time

[rlm's mom]

Some background info: DD landed a pass awkwardly in our first meet and turned out she had fractured her ankle. Was in a boot for 3 weeks and got it off on Monday. Had doctor's warnings to go easy on that foot at least for the next two weeks - no hard landings etc. She has been in the gym as usual over the last 4 weeks doing conditioning, bars with no dismounts and working upgrades into the pit. Coach contacted me on Wednesday she was insisting on practicing as normal, says her foot is fine and wanted to compete properly this weekend. I agreed to allow her bars (no dismount) and vault - level 7 timer. She has been registered for the meet months in advance so was very dissapointing for her not to compete at all. Coach noticed in vault warm-ups she was a bit tentative on that foot and pulled her from competing. I fully supported his decision tho DD was devasted. Cheered up after a good bars routine. Coach suggested to me after the meet i should pull her from practice this week as her ankle needs to heel properly and DD wasn't being careful during practice. I know she will be devasted but feel this is the only way. We have a checkup Monday a week, if she's clear then I'll allow her back.
Anyone had a similar experience with a minor injury? Not sure how to break it to her.
I am wondering if as a younger athlete (she's nearly 9) her body heals much faster and might be fine for her to go back already.

 

[txgymfan]

If the coach says to pull her from practice, I would definitely listen. Simply tell her that you and the coach believe the ankle needs rest and the coach noticed she wasn’t taking it easy. If she doesn’t fo the doctors orders, she doesn’t go to practice, period, no questions asked. She needs her ankle for the rest of her life.

 

[Mish]

My daughter fractured both ankles in a very short period of time. She was back full force on the second one after only 2 weeks in a boot and two weeks in an air cast. Doing PT (not sure how helpful) and says it does not hurt at all. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

[bookworm]

a "fracture" is a break that needs to heal, period and the only way it heals is to be off it and not use it. What does your orthopedic doc have to say about this? She needs to use her ankles for a life time ...I would take ample time off for her to heal, registered or not for meets.

My oldest had a back fracture when she was 13 and was told to have "no practice for 12 weeks" . Her coach at the time wanted her to "be in the gym to stretch only" ..but I heard from one of the moms that he had my daughter on bars on day 2 so I marched in there and pulled her for the 3 months ...coaches weren't happy but neither was I because he violated the terms of our agreement. I kept her out , she healed , she came back for Regionals, made it to JOs and won...all after missing 12 weeks to heal. And to this day, knock on wood, she has not had any back pain or issues going on 15 years out.

I would listen to your gut that's telling you she needs to be out to heal or be prepared for ongoing ankle issues...

 

[rlm's mom]

a "fracture" is a break that needs to heal, period and the only way it heals is to be off it and not use it. What does your orthopedic doc have to say about this? She needs to use her ankles for a life time ...I would take ample time off for her to heal, registered or not for meets.

My oldest had a back fracture when she was 13 and was told to have "no practice for 12 weeks" . Her coach at the time wanted her to "be in the gym to stretch only" ..but I heard from one of the moms that he had my daughter on bars on day 2 so I marched in there and pulled her for the 3 months ...coaches weren't happy but neither was I because he violated the terms of our agreement. I kept her out , she healed , she came back for Regionals, made it to JOs and won...all after missing 12 weeks to heal. And to this day, knock on wood, she has not had any back pain or issues going on 15 years out.

I would listen to your gut that's telling you she needs to be out to heal or be prepared for ongoing ankle issues...

Totally agree on the healing part. A back fracture is totally different; much longer recovery time. I am all for pulling her from gym until we get a check up. Another difference between my situation and yours is our coach is totally for her missing practice for a short period of time.
Thanks for the encouragement, she is so upset so be missing out on her competitive season, mainly why she is so intent on training!! Will show her this.

 

[Mish]

I should add that she was 100% cleared by ankle specialists ortho and told to listen to her body. She is good about that now that she is older and understands the consequences.

 

[rlm's mom]

My daughter fractured both ankles in a very short period of time. She was back full force on the second one after only 2 weeks in a boot and two weeks in an air cast. Doing PT (not sure how helpful) and says it does not hurt at all. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Thanks you are giving me hope! I hate seeing her so upset. Hoping she'll be cleared next wk!

I should add that she was 100% cleared by ankle specialists ortho and told to listen to her body. She is good about that now that she is older and understands the consequences.

Wish I could say the same. Mine is much younger and has no idea of the severity of injuries in sports.

 

[GymAir]

Some background info: DD landed a pass awkwardly in our first meet and turned out she had fractured her ankle. Was in a boot for 3 weeks and got it off on Monday. Had doctor's warnings to go easy on that foot at least for the next two weeks - no hard landings etc. She has been in the gym as usual over the last 4 weeks doing conditioning, bars with no dismounts and working upgrades into the pit. Coach contacted me on Wednesday she was insisting on practicing as normal, says her foot is fine and wanted to compete properly this weekend. I agreed to allow her bars (no dismount) and vault - level 7 timer. She has been registered for the meet months in advance so was very dissapointing for her not to compete at all. Coach noticed in vault warm-ups she was a bit tentative on that foot and pulled her from competing. I fully supported his decision tho DD was devasted. Cheered up after a good bars routine. Coach suggested to me after the meet i should pull her from practice this week as her ankle needs to heel properly and DD wasn't being careful during practice. I know she will be devasted but feel this is the only way. We have a checkup Monday a week, if she's clear then I'll allow her back.
Anyone had a similar experience with a minor injury? Not sure how to break it to her.
I am wondering if as a younger athlete (she's nearly 9) her body heals much faster and might be fine for her to go back already.

Yes, younger kids heal faster - but they also don’t have the best judgement. It’s wonderful that the coach is looking out for her! Remember to tell her that sitting out a week was the coach’s idea - that way she doesn’t spend the whole week trying to change your mind

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Your coach is smart listen to him. There is a lot she can do. Hard landings take it easy.

My kid has had 2 ankle injuries. One a fracture. Meets are the least of it. One was4 weeks out of the boot. The other about 8 weeks. Her ortho is very cool about letting her judge what she is capable of. That said, mine won’t push it unless she is truly ready

 

[ReluctantGymMom]

Given the amount of force they put on their ankles, I can’t imagine how she’d be ready to pound on a fractured ankle after 3 weeks, especially if she’s actually been practicing on it instead of staying completely off it???

Kids heal faster but not magic fast…

Seriously think about how many times she’s going to land hard on her ankle, you gotta hope she doesn’t start favoring the other leg to compensate as well. (My daughter has ongoing ankle issues but hasn’t fractured her ankle, So hope your ortho is right!!! Our experience with ankles has been that they’re the weak point and they WILL take everything down with them)

 

[gymgal]

The ortho giving the go ahead to ease back in means nothing. You need a PT who knows gymnastics to help her gain back the flexibility and strength she will need. Otherwise she will be much more likely to reinjure it in the future. Rule of thumb - the number of weeks out (healing) =the number of weeks rehabbing to get back to where they were. That's not hard and fast tule but is a good guideline. And if the injury requires nonweight bearing recovery, double that timeframe

In the future, please please please do not let her back to doing training until she is at least cleared from ortho and then PT for full unrestricted training

 

[rlm's mom]

Wouldn't say she has been pounding on it since it was injured... about 2.5 weeks off it and then been struggling to keep her off it since. How on earth can I get my little 8 year old to realise just because it doesn't hurt, doesn't mean its fixed? Honestly I would have thought she would know better by now. Anyways she's skipping gym this week and was actually fine about it when I told her she could do an extra swim session