Parents DD injured....now what?

[Sydsmom]

DD went to practice last week and came home complaining her back was hurting. We rubbed some bengay on it and moved on. Two days later she couldn't hardley bend it without pain. showed me where it hurt and there is a bump on her spine!! Off to the doctor we go. Several Xrays later no fracture!! Thank God!!
However we don't know what happened. Doctor says they consulted with a pediatric spine specialist and they said no activity till they can clear her. Next avaliable appt.....1 month later!!
Good grief. We call every day to see if there is a cancellation...no luck so far. One week has passed now the bump has gone down but there is still pain. We'll see what 3 more weeks does. But she is missing gymnastics and I miss watching her!
Has anyone had experience with this? They think it's just a sprain, but how far back will this set her?

 

[lhmom]

We haven't had any experience with this, but sending healing vibes her way! Hope you can get her in quickly.

 

[bogwoppit]

If she has no pain and there are no mediacl findings when she sees the specialist then she will be good to go back to gym. She will not be behind, a month off is a big nothing in the grand schemme of a gym career.

Better be safe than sorry where backs are concerned. Perhaps if my DD had the attention your DD is getting from the doctor she wouldn't be recovering from spinal fusion surgery.

Keep calling for the cancellation, but if none come up don't worry about missing out.

 

[jcs]

I hope she is recovered soon and you are able to get in sooner. One of my biggest pet peeves is the inability of specialists to see patients in a timely manner.

 

[my4buffaloes]

I think I would be looking for a different specialist - one that can see her sooner. BUT, if she still has a bump and pain then being out of the gym is a good thing for her. it's just that what if it is something serious and the doctors are delaying a visit for a month? Then it could make it worse. Good luck, I hope she heals quickly!

 

[bogwoppit]

I hope she is recovered soon and you are able to get in sooner. One of my biggest pet peeves is the inability of specialists to see patients in a timely manner.

Well don't move here, we waited for six months to see the orthopedic surgeon, and that was fast by our standards!!!

 

[Blackie6]

Sorry to hear your DD is injured. It is frustrating not being able to get a specialist appointment in a timely manner. While my DD never had a back injury (knock on wood) she has had her share of injuries in her 5 years of gym that have held her up a month or more. Recently a thumb FX kept her out a month. Being that it is her back I would probably wait for the specialist to clear her, that is not something you want to take chances with. Can you call your primary doctor and see if they would be able to try to get her in sooner at another office? If not, try not to worry about what she is missing, kids have a remarkable way of getting back into the gym and regaining the skills back pretty quickly. ((HUGS))

 

[Deleted member D3987]

better to wait on this one.

 

[gym law mom]

Totally agree with this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Sydsmom]

Well don't move here, we waited for six months to see the orthopedic surgeon, and that was fast by our standards!!!

We only have 2 pediatric spine specialists in our area. We initially had an August 15th appt but was able to get it moved up 1 week to the 8th because of a cancellation. I keep calling!! Thanks all so much for your encouraging words. And I hope you all are right. We found out last night that the L5's were told if you don't have your kip by July 31st you were'nt moving up. I hope they will make an exception for her because she is out till the 8th (at least!).

 

[Trixiebelle]

So sorry to hear you DD is going through this. I can commiserate with the waiting part - DD is fortunate enough to be seen by a great DR - only he is very hard to get ahold of. Aside from all the great advice you have received here - my suggestion is to keep a notebook of her symptoms, anything that makes it flare up and be sure to arrive with a list of questions. I didn't have my list last time I spoke with DD's DR and there were at least 4 things I forgot to ask! Oh and ask for a hardcopy of her xrays. You can keep them in your file, but also bring them to the appointment. (Unless your specialist is absolutely, 100% in the same facility and network and can access the digital images! Let's just say I learned this the hard way...)

For what it's worth, DD hurt her back in early May and we are hoping she will be cleared on the 19th of July to begin gymnastics training again. While it seems like age to us waiting, the body really does need time to recover.

 

[cathiann]

I hope the spine specialist doesn't find anything wrong! Obviously waiting is important--a month off gymnastics is tough but far better than doing something and injuring it worse.

And talk to the coaches about your worries about not moving up since she's out right now. They should be able to tell you if they'll give her more time once she's back or if she'll repeat the level. And repeating isn't the end of the world . She'll really do well if she does, right?

 

[Deanna]

I hope all goes well with your DD and she is on the mend quickly. Please keep us all posted

 

[dinkalina]

I don't have any suggestions for the spine injury but I would caution you on the use of bengay and children. I don't know how old your daughter is, but bengay and similar "sports rubs" have asprin in it and should not be used on children. I was also advised not to use it while I was pregnant to protect the child from adverse affects. I'm sure your pediatrician could suggest safer alternatives. Thanks!

 

[cher062]

Just remember its just gymnastics and your DD's back is way more important than any sport. Kids heal quickly and she will mostlikely return to it at some point. It's ok if she is "behind" she will still be able to move forward. It might delay the timeline we all get in our heads for where the kids should be but health is way more important than that.

Have you tried looking to get an appointment with a different specialist. You can ask your daughters DR if he recommends someone else that could see her earlier. There are alot of doctors out there that are good.

 

[Sydsmom]

I don't have any suggestions for the spine injury but I would caution you on the use of bengay and children. I don't know how old your daughter is, but bengay and similar "sports rubs" have asprin in it and should not be used on children. I was also advised not to use it while I was pregnant to protect the child from adverse affects. I'm sure your pediatrician could suggest safer alternatives. Thanks!

thanks for the information. We don't acutally use BenGay, it's Bio Freeze. I hope that's ok. She goes in for her physical for school tomorrow and I ask if it's ok. Also she is 12 (well on Friday!!!). I wonder if that makes a difference. But I'll make sure to ask!

 

[gym law mom]

Biofreeze should be fine for a 12 yo. Many physical therapists use it. Always good to ask though.

 

[shelovestoflip]

My daughter has been out for 3 months now with a back injury and while it is very hard for her to watch the other girls flipping and flying while she mostly can only do conditioning, I do think it's better to do exactly what the doctor says!

You mention that the xrays show no fracture. From what our pediatric ortho said, xrays don't always show fractures because there is swelling. In our case, they did an MRI which did show swelling and they 'assume' based on many other injuries of her type that it is a fracture. After time, they will do a CT scan, because after this recovery period, the swelling will subside and the CT scan will presumably (hopefully!!) show that the fracture is healing.

So, the only thing I might suggest, based on my limited experience/understanding, is to ask for an MRI to rule out swelling around a fracture. Just a thought. Also, from what her coaches, her PT and some helpful people on this list have told me, because she has continued going to the gym to condition, condition, condition (and a few 'little' gym things), she will still have her strength and the skills should come back quickly.

Keeping my fingers crossed...her follow up scan/appt is in a month. This will give her a solid 3 months before the meet season generally begins!

 

[ek2]

We only have 2 pediatric spine specialists in our area. We initially had an August 15th appt but was able to get it moved up 1 week to the 8th because of a cancellation. I keep calling!! Thanks all so much for your encouraging words. And I hope you all are right. We found out last night that the L5's were told if you don't have your kip by July 31st you were'nt moving up. I hope they will make an exception for her because she is out till the 8th (at least!).

I know it is a tough situation for all of you! But you would not want her competing level 5 without a kip... even given the circumstances. Better for her to be totally prepared for a level then to compete it only to come in at the bottom. A couple of years ago my dd competed against girls from a gym at level 6. They barely had their kips and their fly-aways made everyone cringe, her coach actually had the team look away at each event just in case something bad happened. It was crazy. None of the girls scored out of the level it was that bad. So even if your dd has to wait another season to do level 5, if she is prepared well, it will be much better confidence and skill-wise to move on to level 6 and then optionals.