Career ending injuries? =[

[FlipTwistFly28]

Has anyone on here had a career ending injury or know anyone who has?
I have an ankle injury that I've been dealing with since probaby end of November/begining of January. I didn't do anything about it until March, in which I was given a boot for a month and then I had to do physical therapy. I just had one of my last sessions and I have to go back in 2 and a half weeks to see if it has improved or not... but, my pt said I can't start training gymnastics again until I have a month without pain, so I'm pretty bummed. That's at least until July, so I'd be missing out on a lot of training time.
So i guess it's not career ending, but if I hurt it again, I think it could (but hopefully not!) get to that point.
Thanks!

 

[ben_347]

yeah my back has stopped me from doing gymnastics. Doc says i need to rest for a year to see if my back heals or improves but I doubt I will be able to continue (I am 18 now). I have Spondylolithesis and Spondylolysis in my Lumbar Back. (Look it up on wikipedia) hah! The 2nd one is common amongst gymnasts from the weight bearing and heavy loading through the Lumbar Spine. Also my shoulder has a torn labrum which i will need surgery on if i kept doing gymnastics. And my ankle, i had arthroscope on it in December but I still havent got full range of motion yet. Seeing Physio and other doc for it.

 

[bogwoppit]

My DD, who is now 12, has missed at least 3 months of training every year for the past 3 years. She has done PT and has always managed to go back with no pain. She loves gym and doesn't want to quit yet. She loses skills and doesn't progress as the other girls do , but it still doesn't stop her.

It is really about the pain, the recovery and whether you want to continue or not.

 

[cher062]

Has anyone on here had a career ending injury or know anyone who has?
I have an ankle injury that I've been dealing with since probaby end of November/begining of January. I didn't do anything about it until March, in which I was given a boot for a month and then I had to do physical therapy. I just had one of my last sessions and I have to go back in 2 and a half weeks to see if it has improved or not... but, my pt said I can't start training gymnastics again until I have a month without pain, so I'm pretty bummed. That's at least until July, so I'd be missing out on a lot of training time.
So i guess it's not career ending, but if I hurt it again, I think it could (but hopefully not!) get to that point.
Thanks!

Unfortunately these things do happen. My son in Aug of 2007 dislocated his knee cap and missed a good amount of training from Sep - Dec. With PT he was able to compete in the Jan - May season and was doing very well too. The meet Just before The state meet he was doing his floor routine - he got to the part where he had to do some type of leg swing on the floor and he was a little low and bam!! Hit the same knee cap and dislocated it again. We were lucky that one of the dad's from another team was a doctor and came down and popped the knee cap back in place. Yes the knee cap was on the right side of his leg instead of on top of it. The little kids were saying things like EWWWW whats wrong with his leg. Yes very deformed looking until it was popped back into place. Well the ambulance came and it was off to the hospital for a few hours. Well Son only gor 4 out of 6 events completed and he was more upset at not finishing the meet then the knee.

After the hospital he wanted to go back to the meet so with crutches and a leg imobalizer we went back. We were just in time for awards. When he walked in the whole audience stood up and gave him a standing "O".

Awards in the events he competed in and completed he took 1st place, in the floor routine which he didn't finish he placed 4th - I couldn't believe it!

In the other event he didn't get to he placed last of course. In the AA I amost fell off the chair he placed 4th all around. Coaches from the other teams came up to him saying he would have placed 1st and they know at states and then regionals he would have been the guy to beat.

Well when we went to his doctor if he wanted to compete still it ment surgery to shorten the tendedins in his knee cap so this wouldn't happen again. At Just 16 yo I left it up to him if he wanted to do the surgery or give up the gymnastics. It took him 2 months before he decided that the thought of surgery and the rehab after was more of a deterent then his love of doing gymnastics. So he went to the coach and owner and I have to say he was holding back tears and let them know he would be quiting the team.

They both smiled at him and said great now we can hire you as a team coach!! they sent him to get his certifications and now he coaches the L 4 - L6 boys along with some rec classes. He misses doing the gymnastics but he still feels like he is part of the team and does something he loves. he can't belive someone would pay him to do this. So he ended up with a job out of it too. Now that he is getting into the choosing college years he is considering going to college for something like sports medicine or a degree that will let him continue in this career. He hasn't decided yet.

They always say when a window closes for you another will open up.

 

[lakshmi369]

I am afraid we know several gymnasts that had to call it quits.
A. This gymnast fell from bars doing a L10 routine and shreaded her elbow. She has gone into coaching and still has a love for the sport.
B. This gymnast at a very young age was practicing tons of hours and had developed many physical aches and pains. Finally she pulled the plug on gym due to a damaged nerve in her arm and got tired of constantly being in pain.
C. Lastly, another L10 gymnast that had shattered her shoulder blade coming off a bars release move badly, spent a year rehabbing and came back. That year when the scouts were visiting from the colleges she blew out her knee and called it stops.
This is a tough, tough sport! Our own DD at a very young age has been faced with possibly packing it in twice. Once from a dislocated elbow and second from injuring both wrists. She is happy and strong now and we keep our fingers ....and toes..... crossed it stays that way!

 

[coachmolly]

Gymnastics is a rough sport and these injuries are just a reminder that you need to take advantage of every opportunity you have in this sport and enjoy it as much as you can! You also have to remember that there is a life outside of gymnastics, a long one that you don't want to be in pain for! Is an extra year in gymnastics worth the pain it can cause for the rest of your life?
A few weeks before my 13th birthday I developed a deep vein thrombosis in my right subclavian vein as a direct result of gymnastics. It took a while for the problem to be diagnosed as it was so rare for someone my age, but as soon as it was I was to report directly to the hospital where I stayed for 2 weeks and spent part of that time in the ICU. After a round of high doses of blood thinners, angioplasty, and a surgery to remove my top rib bone I was in the clear but it was highly recommended that I not return to gymnastics. I did anyway after my treatment on blood thinners was over which my doctors hated, but every unaccounted for bruise caused a good amount of fear.
I ended up calling it quits for good 2 years later because my body was just not made for gymnastics. Nearly 6 years after leaving competitive gymnastics for good I still have linger problems.
Now I coach and still love gymnastics more than anyone I know, it's my life and what I spend every spare minute devoted to. But I also realize now that my health is more important. You can still participate in gymnastics in some aspects without tearing apart your body, but with injuries, there are some you just can't come back from. I'm in my early 20s and have a history of blood clots, not a good thing.
So you really need to weigh out the pros and cons. Being a gymnast might seem like everything to you right now, but your future health and well being are so much more important. I'm not going to say it wasn't hard to step away, even knowing the harm gymnastics had caused me, and to this day I sometimes wish I had stuck it out longer. But I know that it's what was best for me and I'll be thankful for it later on.
Good luck with all of your treatments, be sure to listen to your doctors and PTs and follow their directions closely!