Parents Daughter is forced to stop gymnastics

[Gymmom82773]

I've posted on here before about my 12 year old daughter and her hand surgeries . She's a level 9 and we were told about a year ago that she had mild gymnast wrist syndrome. After 2 hand surgeries for a different problem , she was finally released to start training and her wrist were hurting bad after only a month so I took her back to the dr and they took X-rays. The gymnast wrist syndrome appears to be getting worse . The growth plates are really wide still and she will be 13 in September . Dr says she has to stop until her growth plates fuse completely so we will monitor every 6 months . Coach and her and me of course are very sad . This poor girl has been through so much in the past year , missing states by tenths too .
She use to be on a travel soccer team and she's going to pursue that too . I don't want her sitting around just waiting to be able to return , she's a really good all around athlete. I guess if it's meant to be she will go back to it in the future . Just heartbreaking and the girls are her best friends too coach was a little annoyed at her for not being more honest about how bad the wrist hurt .. She didn't want to stop yet again . Just keep her in your thoughts and prayers everyone as we transition into other things .

 

[kaloss]

I've posted on here before about my 12 year old daughter and her hand surgeries . She's a level 9 and we were told about a year ago that she had mild gymnast wrist syndrome. After 2 hand surgeries for a different problem , she was finally released to start training and her wrist were hurting bad after only a month so I took her back to the dr and they took X-rays. The gymnast wrist syndrome appears to be getting worse . The growth plates are really wide still and she will be 13 in September . Dr says she has to stop until her growth plates fuse completely so we will monitor every 6 months . Coach and her and me of course are very sad . This poor girl has been through so much in the past year , missing states by tenths too .
She use to be on a travel soccer team and she's going to pursue that too . I don't want her sitting around just waiting to be able to return , she's a really good all around athlete. I guess if it's meant to be she will go back to it in the future . Just heartbreaking and the girls are her best friends too coach was a little annoyed at her for not being more honest about how bad the wrist hurt .. She didn't want to stop yet again . Just keep her in your thoughts and prayers everyone as we transition into other things .

I can't imagine how disappointing for her and you, as parents. I'm sorry and hope she can heal up quickly and make a full come back!

 

[my4buffaloes]

I'm so sorry! What rough way to be forced into retirement. I hope she enjoys soccer so much that gymnastics is just a good distant memory.

 

[profmom]

Wow, I am so sorry! Is she in her major growth spurt now? Is she even thinking about coming back if the growth plate issue resolves in a year or so, or is it time to say goodbye? I'm very glad she has another sport to love regardless.

 

[Gymmom82773]

They are going to X-ray her wrist every six months and if they fuse properly , then the risk is gone and she could return. She is getting an MRI on both wrist to see the extent of the damage . The one thing she isn't going to miss is the pain . She has been in pain for a long time . Her orthopedic dr used to be a gymnast and said these young bodies aren't meant for this impact . She was doing urchenko vaults at the age of 10. I kind of wish she has processed slower (she skipped levels ) but at the time she was doing so well . It might not have even mattered if she was prone to gymnast wrist. I just want her to be happy , feel less stress , and be pain free . If gymnastics will come back into her life at an older age , great but she can now try other things like soccer and track . She's an excellent Runner too . I'm curious to see what the future holds for her ! She's been doing gymnastics since 4.

 

[profmom]

I hope she really enjoys the new adventures. And yes, getting rid of the stress and pain will be huge up sides!

I've been reading up about wrist issues lately because my 11 year old son has a mild problem now and I don't want it to get worse. His orthopedist told him that some kids' wrists just will not tolerate long impact-based workouts. We're attacking the problem from two angles: strengthening exercises to improve strength and stability of the joints, and encouraging him to change the way he works out, doing a much smaller number of very high quality repetitions and modifying PH workouts so it's less weight bearing. I hope it's enough, and I'd encourage anyone else whose kid is complaining of wrist pain to take it seriously! Too many of these kids are so stoic about pain or are told that it's just the cost of doing business if they are moving up quickly.

I so admire the way you're managing this with her.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I'm sorry for her to be forced to quit something she loves to do! It's so sad when you have gymnasts retiring (temporarily or not) because of serious medical issues. It's so important to take care of and listen to your body, and this sport can be brutal. I'm glad you guys stayed on top of things and are doing the safe thing!!!

 

[EastCoastGymMom]

She sounds like a great girl and athlete who will excel at whatever she chooses! Good luck to her!

 

[gracyomalley]

I have a patient who didn't stop with the injuries your DD is dealing with - and at age 12 has chronic wrist pain and early arthritis. She's been out of gym for 4 years now and still wears braces for school due to the writing....I'm very glad your coaches and doctors (and you and your DD) are not messing around with this.

It will work out - she will either heal well and still love gym, come back and enjoy it for a few more years, or she will fall in love with something else and put her heart into it. It will be a difficult transition no matter what but gymnastics is just a sport and not every body can healthily continue into the higher levels. Good luck to her on the next step in her journey!

 

[Mrs. Puma]

I agree with @profmom -it sounds like you're handling it great! Good luck and keep us posted! Sending good mojo

 

[Gymmom82773]

Thanks so much for all the encouraging words . She is actually hanging out with her gym friends now ! Her travel coach had her work out with her old team today and invited her back on ! She is pretty sure she is going to do it . I'm so proud of her for handling this so well .

 

[Committed]

Thanks so much for all the encouraging words . She is actually hanging out with her gym friends now ! Her travel coach had her work out with her old team today and invited her back on ! She is pretty sure she is going to do it . I'm so proud of her for handling this so well .

That's so great!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

bummer