Dealing with Hypermobility Syndrome

[AGM78910]

My daughter is a 14 year old gymnast training USAG level 8. She was diagnosed 4 years ago with Hypermobility Syndrome. This is a condition
that features joints that easily move beyond the normal range expected for a particular joint. People with this syndrome are usually refered to as "double jointed". This means that she is super flexible but her joints are weak because her tendons are very stretchy. Kids with this condition also have a hard time orienting themselves in space. This has led to major fear issues especially with back tumbling and cast handstands. Her coach now is very good with her and realizes that she needs more time to get the skills.

She has been seeing a Sports medicine physician that specializes in this condition and with lots of physical therapy she has been able to build muscle around those joints.

She has also had a couple of coaches in the past that have gotten very impatient with her because they think she doesn't try. She has major fear issues with anything new.

Does anyone have any ideas on helping her cope with this?

 

[Linsul]

The timing of this post is scary! Last night the other coaches and I were talking about our old injuries and whatnot in the staff lounge. As a 'stupid human trick' I showed them my shoulders that could (partially) dislocate with very little pressure. One of the elite coaches started laughed at me and told me I was double jointed in the shoulders.

Your DD is very lucky to have her joint issue diagnosed and have a treatment plan. Strengthening the area around is pretty much all you can do as I understand it. My coaches used to have me use therabands to strengthen the area. I never went to the doctor about it though, so I would ask the doc first about stuff you can do at home or in the gym.

Bars stands out as especially hard. Trying to balance before any skill was what happened. Coaches would get mad and say 'You are not on floor, you are not on beam, the bars were not made for balance!!!' Momentum and position is burned into my brain. Hitting positions while controlling speed of skills always made me slightly panicky. All you can do is try though. Do the strength therapy and then do your best. Learn to find a baseline level of 'joint floaty-ness' on each skill so you know when above average forces are acting on the joint and dislocation is imminent. It's just another thing in a million during a skill that you have to teach yourself to be aware of.

I wish I had something more helpful to say but it sounds like you guys are on the right track and that her coaches are understanding. Strength strength strength, a heaping dose of awareness, and a willingness to try will teach her lots even if she doesn't get it right away.

 

[CoachGoofy]

Strength strength strength. Proprioception proprioception proprioception.

Be careful with her knees and elbows-it's very pretty when they overextend a little, but oh gosh does it hurt when they lock out. Taking in some literature from her PT or sports med doc with very specific things that are going to be difficult for her would likely help her coaches a lot, since everyone is different.

My coaches always made sure I wasn't gumbying things around but instead using good technique (apparently a reverse planche and a handstand aren't the same thing. Who knew??)

-CoachGumby =)

 

[AGM78910]

Thanks loads!

We had a real problem getting the right coaching for her. Initially coaches would get excited about her flexibility but then would get impatient with her strength issues. Her doctors and therapists are very good at working with her current coaches on ways to help strengthen the joints. This was the only way she could continue in the sport. She ended up spending about 15 minutes per day on the specialized exercises and it took about 6 months to build the muscle. The good news is that she like most hypermobile kids is less prone to Severs and Osgood-Schlatters.

I have seen several girls on team with her that also have this condition end up quitting the sport because they got discouraged that they were not progressing. Some were diagnosed and treated did very well. One of them is now a full ride college gymnast. Some of the other girls moved to other gyms and were able to compete but it did take them longer to get those skills.

 

[flippinlolly]

I was diagnosed with this when I was 7 and still have PT for it regularly. I completely agree with what everyone else has said. The best thing she can do is build up muscle around the joints so that they, rather than the loose tendons, take up extra strain and compensate for the problem.

And also CoachGoofy mentioned proprioception. This is perhaps the biggest part of my PT now. It's all about dynamic stability (so the stability whilst your moving). One of the best things I do now (and I really only started doing after I tore my ACL- my hypermobility was a big factor in that injury) is using a wobble board daily.

In case you don't no what it is, it's basically a board with half a ball on the bottom. I started off literally standing on it while i watched TV, also turning my head from side to side. As I got better at it we increased the difficulty, so things like knee bends, closing my eyes, having to catch things while standing on it, standing on one leg. It really helps.

I really agree about watching out for the knees. The risk of injuries like my ACL tear and other ligament tears and similar things are greatly increased by hypermobility and take a long time to recover from.

It's really good that they've caught it because now you can work to make gym safer for her. I would make sure that her coaches are well informed and are in contact with her therapist so that they completely understand!