From what I'm reading here and even with people I know, it seems to be somewhat common in new level 5/old 6 because of too many BWOs, particularly on beam. I was just talking w/ a friend from my daughter's old gym that told me 3 girls on her daughter's old level 6 team had stress fractures in their backs in that season. It's pretty crazy to hear how common it is! I wish there were a way to avoid that in the first place....
Yes, there is definitely a way to avoid this type of injury. I am "just a parent", but I spent a lot of hours in the gym (not necessarily watching my daughter -- other reasons to be there even before she was a gymnast). I also have some sports experience in the past that allows for a bit deeper understanding of certain things. At a minimum, all coaches should be educated about the risks associated with the BWO and the increased potential for overuse injury when learning BWO on beam; this is not an unknown or rare phenomenon in gymnastics. Any coach with a few years experience would likely possess this knowledge, so that is something to consider -- how experienced are your coaches?
I would also think that most coaches should be able to identify gymnasts with a higher potential for this type of injury due to their familiarity with the gymnast up to that point, how they perform skills, any limitations in flexibility, fear issues, etc.. Those with a lack of shoulder flexibility and the inability to do a good, straight BWO on a line on the floor are clearly going to have a longer learning curve in moving the skill to the beam. We have all seen gymnasts that do not go over the 'center' when doing BWO...they kind of swing their leg out to the side and then over. This is generally due to that lack of flexibility (primarily shoulder/upper back; sometimes leg/split flexibility) and probably a bit of bad habit thrown in too. This method doesn't really have a 'consequence' at the end when they do it that way on the floor, but when they move that skill to the beam and perform it in that manner, they will either fall (hence more repetitions and an over-dependence on the lower back when trying the skill) or they'll have to torque their leg back to center at the end of the skill to stay on (translates to a lot of twisting and unnatural torque in the lower back).
I would think that an increased focus on shoulder flexibility in the levels leading up to this skill would help somewhat. A lot of time is spent on splits and leg flexibility, but it seems a bit less so on other parts. Shoulder flexibility is important long term, especially for upper level bars work, but this level may be the first time a gymnast is really challenged physically due to this specific limitation. Starting to work on that when they're lower level and learning it on the floor should help somewhat. I understand the challenges in getting a younger/lower level/less-mature gymnast to understand why they really do need to do it the way the coach is asking them to...truly, that is a challenge across all skills. But maybe there are other things they can do to lead up to this skill that would make the learning of it (even on floor) easier. Really work that bridge position during daily routines (straighten arms and legs; work to move shoulders over your head) so that they're able to get the "center" of the skill in the right spot when it comes time to learn the BWO (fulcrum of the skill should be the aligned head/arms/shoulders, not the lower back). When DD was younger, I did see them working this a bit during their warm-ups, but not a lot of attention was focused on addressing those that were not doing it properly. A bit more focus early on in increasing flexibility and mobility would likely go a long way. But that takes time and sometimes it's hard to justify when you've got routines to teach and mill circles to learn.
The other thing that seems to make this particular issue worse is moving the skill to the beam too quickly. It's really not that hard to tell if they've got it well enough on the floor to move it up. I understand that they need to try it on the beam (even the floor beam) so they get the feel for it and can prepare themselves mentally for this skill, but attempts there should be limited. Often, they're given an assignment to get 3 or 5 good ones or whatever, and if they have to attempt it 30 or more times to get to 3, that is too many. They should be limited in the number of attempts per day, you get what you get out of X tries and then move on. Working on the BHS sooner seems better too....that skill is far easier on the back and many gymnasts find it easier than the BWO once they master it. Mentally, I think that that prospect of the BHS is more difficult for a gymnast to embrace, so they have to be ready to commit to the skill. But I would be willing to sacrifice a fall at L5 Beam if it means saving a back or two. It's not the end of the world if they don't get it...it won't hold them back long term as the beam skills in the higher levels move quickly away from the BWO anyway. So...attempt to learn it, but limit the numbers to what can be safely performed. I feel that this is one skill that really needs to be watched as they work on it (not just sending them off to work on it rather independently). Coaches can intervene earlier for those that need it and can strictly monitor attempts/limit repetitions.
That's my very long winded 2-cents anyway!
