WAG Devastating news for my daughter- L5 fracture

[txgymfan]

Her name is Maddie Cable if you google her you can read her story. Maybe you should stock up on craft supplies.

 

[Muddlethru]

Truly sorry to hear of your daughter's injury. No suggestions here just good wishes for full and speedy recovery and finding something exciting to occupy her in the meantime.

 

[duyetanh]

Truly sorry to hear of your daughter's injury. No suggestions here just good wishes for full and speedy recovery and finding something exciting to occupy her in the meantime.

This. And I hope the time passes quickly for all involved.

 

[flowerchild]

Good luck to your DD and best wishes for a rapid recovery. I know it's hard to believe, but even if she can't go back to gymnastics ( which she very well may, there are plenty of girls who have) ...

There IS life after gymnastics.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

I am so sorry to hear this!!! Best of luck...poor kid

 

[shelovestoflip]

Hello! My daughter who is 14 and level 9 just found out Thursday she has stress fractures (pars defect) in her L5 disk with edema and swelling. She is restricted from all activity walking to far, bending, twisting, lifting anything over 10lb, putting shoes on etc. She will be fitted for a back brace Monday (oh man is she so mad about that). Timeline for healing is 4-6 weeks in brace, then 4-6 weeks PT then start back at gym about 25% and work up to going back 100% in the following 2 months, that is only if pain free and MRI comes back clean. As I am sure you all know how hard mentally this will be for a kid who has been going to gym 5 nights a week since she was 8. She doesn't have many other interests, she doesn't like art, books, school, etc.... I am racking my brain to find something for her to do with all this time. There is a possibility she can do some volunteer coaching but not much and NO conditioning at all. I am also worried about weight gain and depression. Does anyone have any grand ideas or has been through this or some other injury have any advice? Crazy how you never think it will be your child.

We've been down the same road. Agree with what others have said…follow Dr/PT advice to a T….we did and have not had a problem since. Others we know have left the sport due to re injury.

my daughter was 8 weeks in the brace with no gym. She was allowed to go and do arm weights and she did that. She was also allowed to do leg conditioning. All with brace on. This only after PT showed her what to do and how to do it safely. She would go to gym for about 2 hours. Psychologically it was good for her to be there. She was also allowed to bike and swim (at this point with the brace ON!….crazy but she did it and then we would blow dry the velcro lol!!)

She did do an after school art class during this time as well as a LOT of random crafts at home! Unlike what others suggested, she didn't learn a new instrument or read a lot!

After the initial 8 weeks she was allowed to do PT with brace off at the gym. You have to know your daughter. I knew mine would do only what the PT said to do and then put the brace on.

At this time she was also allowed to do running (brace on) and swimming (brace off). It was summer and I think both Dr and PT didn't want her summer ruined! Again, you know your kid and she wasn't crazy so we both felt safe.

After the second 8 weeks, she was out of the 24/7 brace and transitioned to a brace only for practice and then eased back into events.

Honestly it goes by quickly. If you have to look at the bright side, you are at the end of meet season so she won't miss an entire season.

True, others will be working on new skills but your daughter will pick those up quickly. Muscle memory is a real thing!

I'd say get her to the gym if only to hang out for an hour or two a day. It matters!

Good luck!!

 

[gymmutti]

Dealing with this right now. DD diagnosed right before the start of the season so she is missing the whole thing which is tough.
We are at week 8 with the brace and have another 2.5 weeks to go (at least) but no pain now. She did PT 1x a week at first - working on breathing techniques and learning to engage muscles. She's now up to 2x a week PT (no brace) and allowed to do conditioning and certain skills approved by PT while in a brace (no extension allowed). She is hopeful to be training full time in April. It is a SLOW process but she is making tiny progress each week. Being at the gym has helped mentally. Her goal right now is no more injuries and to come back strong next season.

 

[Anna's_Mom]

I know this doesn't sound like fun, but maybe would take the stress off when she goes back. Will her teachers give her assignments or homework ahead of the class that she can do now, so she won't have so much when she goes back to the gym? Maybe the books for English or something? Paper or other big assignment coming up? Does she or could she have a pet to care for? That will often prevent/lessen depression. If getting something new, maybe a kitten that she can play with without too much physical action and who will cuddle up to her to sleep?

 

[gotfaith]

Wanted to update everyone on my daughters progress over the last 6 months.

She was found to have a bi lateral fracture with a lot of fluid and swelling meaning it was most likely an acute injury not just a stress fracture.

She was immediately braced and was in a brace that went down her right leg and all the way up to her breast bone for 3 months. She was only released to walk no other exercise. She had X-rays done twice in the 3 months to check for healing. They both looked good.

After 3 months they removed her brace and she was able to start PT and some minor strength training. the goal was to build strength and have no back pain for 6 weeks. At 6 weeks she had a cat scan that showed her fractures are not quite healed enough to be released back to gymnastics which was devastating for my daughter who has been out since February with a goal of going back July 1. The doc did release her to go back and do minor skills with no impact or extensions. So she is very limited. At this point she is doing gym 3 days a week 2 hours a day. She also started a paddle board comp team that will help her with her core strength too.

It's hard for her to watch from the sidelines as her friends work the skills. She is determined to go back. They gave her another 2 months before she can be released. So we're looking at September. She really wants to compete this next season but I am not sure she can.

Being a parent on this roller coaster is so hard. I wish I knew the future so I could give her some hope or start to put her focus on something new.

 

[gotfaith]

Dealing with this right now. DD diagnosed right before the start of the season so she is missing the whole thing which is tough.
We are at week 8 with the brace and have another 2.5 weeks to go (at least) but no pain now. She did PT 1x a week at first - working on breathing techniques and learning to engage muscles. She's now up to 2x a week PT (no brace) and allowed to do conditioning and certain skills approved by PT while in a brace (no extension allowed). She is hopeful to be training full time in April. It is a SLOW process but she is making tiny progress each week. Being at the gym has helped mentally. Her goal right now is no more injuries and to come back strong next season.

Just wanted to know how everything ended up? We are about at this stage now! Would love to chat with you!

 

[gymgal]

Glad to hear it is healing but sorry to hear it is taking much longer than you she expected. Stay the course. A couple more months is very little in the grand scheme of a lifetime, which is what she needs to be thinking about with these types of injuries. She wants to make sure she heals completely so she doesn't have any ongoing issues either for gymnastics or later on. Doesn't make the news any easier to handle though.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Just hang in there.

 

[balancedmom]

So sorry for your DD. My DD has been out a lot this year, so I totally feel your frustration. She is younger and L7-- concussion kept her fully out of gym for 2 months and now foot/ankle injury has meant nothing but strength and conditioning for well over two more months. Dr doesn't want any pressure on the foot. I honestly don't know with almost 5 months out how she will get back in but she wants to. She started playing piano.....hope your DD heals quickly.

 

[gymmutti]

Just wanted to know how everything ended up? We are about at this stage now! Would love to chat with you!

DD is back at gymnastics but it has been with some bumps. One thing to prepare your daughter for is that she'll need to realize that it is HARD to get back full strength as fast as she'll want. My DD has had the worst round of Osgood Schlatters as she's returned and I'm certain that a lot of that is due to the fact that her body hadn't had pounding for so long and suddenly she was trying to do L8/L9 skills. Unfortunately for my girl, she's had some random injuries (dislocated her finger and chipped a bone doing a silly contest during conditioning) and just sprained her wrist this week. The good news: her back is doing great so far. She is still alternating vault and floor per her PT's recommendation to reduce pounding (both for back and her Osgoods) and that will likely continue through the summer.

 

[gotfaith]

DD is back at gymnastics but it has been with some bumps. One thing to prepare your daughter for is that she'll need to realize that it is HARD to get back full strength as fast as she'll want. My DD has had the worst round of Osgood Schlatters as she's returned and I'm certain that a lot of that is due to the fact that her body hadn't had pounding for so long and suddenly she was trying to do L8/L9 skills. Unfortunately for my girl, she's had some random injuries (dislocated her finger and chipped a bone doing a silly contest during conditioning) and just sprained her wrist this week. The good news: her back is doing great so far. She is still alternating vault and floor per her PT's recommendation to reduce pounding (both for back and her Osgoods) and that will likely continue through the summer.

Update!! Faith went back full time to gym in October 2016, she has flourished and to be honest this experience has made her stronger mentally. She isn't doing as hard of skills in level 9 as many of the kids but still places in top 3-5 at each meet . Her bars are amazing with only a 9.7 SV she is averaging 9.2. She did a ton of rehab and PT taught her how to stay out of her back. She made it the entire season with no pain!! Next stop state! Super proud and so happy our journey has ended!!

 

[gymgal]

Update!! Faith went back full time to gym in October 2016, she has flourished and to be honest this experience has made her stronger mentally. She isn't doing as hard of skills in level 9 as many of the kids but still places in top 3-5 at each meet . Her bars are amazing with only a 9.7 SV she is averaging 9.2. She did a ton of rehab and PT taught her how to stay out of her back. She made it the entire season with no pain!! Next stop state! Super proud and so happy our journey has ended!!

Wonderful news!!

 

[txgymfan]

Thanks for the update. So happy she is happy, strong and has had a great season. This is the type of old thread we love to see revived. Getting an update from a successfully recovered athlete makes me happy!

 

[Sasha]

Update!! Faith went back full time to gym in October 2016, she has flourished and to be honest this experience has made her stronger mentally. She isn't doing as hard of skills in level 9 as many of the kids but still places in top 3-5 at each meet . Her bars are amazing with only a 9.7 SV she is averaging 9.2. She did a ton of rehab and PT taught her how to stay out of her back. She made it the entire season with no pain!! Next stop state! Super proud and so happy our journey has ended!!

This is amazing! Makes me so happy to hear. What a tough journey, but coming through with flying colors on the other side can also give a lot of other athletes and families hope and motivation to stay the course.

Good luck to your DD at States.

 

[txgymfan]

Will Faith repeat 9 next season or try for 10?

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Update!! Faith went back full time to gym in October 2016, she has flourished and to be honest this experience has made her stronger mentally. She isn't doing as hard of skills in level 9 as many of the kids but still places in top 3-5 at each meet . Her bars are amazing with only a 9.7 SV she is averaging 9.2. She did a ton of rehab and PT taught her how to stay out of her back. She made it the entire season with no pain!! Next stop state! Super proud and so happy our journey has ended!!

Thank you for sharing this, gotfaith! My DD is in a similar situation coming back from an injury and this is so encouraging to hear. Best of luck to you and your gymmie.