Parents Disappointed

[Panda-girl's Mom]

Got back from orthopedic doctor today with disappointing news. Daughter will have to have arm in a cast for 2 more weeks and miss sectionals. Apparently she has stress fractures in both wrists but the one in the cast is worse, the other wrist is getting better. I feel so bad because when I read the premilninary report of her MRI I thought it said there was no fractures. I told daughter that her cast was probally coming off today and she will most likely be able to back to full practice. I found out when the ortho doctor read it she was able to see it better. She said it is common in gymnast because daughter is 10 and her bones are growing and the constant stress. I even asked her about taking off the cast to see if she could try but she said it will just have a rebound effect and when sectionals come she will be back to having pain and might not be able to tumble.
The good news is that she can petition to states since her scores were good enough. But she is unhappy and feels like this is cheating!
I see alot of the gymnasts are injured but I never thought it would happen to daughter at this age and level 5. I asked the orthopedist about the training and maybe it is to much but she was understanding and knowledgable and said this is just the culture of gymnastics and you are not going to change it. I do wonder if she was in a less intense training would this not have happened.

 

[mariposa]

Sorry that the results weren't what you were hoping for. I would definitely tell your daughter that petitioning for States definitely isn't cheating. She is injured and they make provisions for injured gymnasts.

As to the training hours and wondering about the what ifs, you just can't do that to yourself. What is, is. You can make decisions from now on, but to worry and stress and feel bad about what has already happened won't help anything.

Here is a link about stress fractures. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00112

It has this to say about helping to prevent stress fractures:

Here are some tips developed by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons to help prevent stress fractures:

• When participating in any new sports activity, set incremental goals. For example, do not immediately set out to run five miles a day; instead, gradually build up your mileage on a weekly basis.
• Cross-training -- alternating activities that accomplish the same fitness goals -- can help to prevent injuries like stress fractures. Instead of running every day to meet cardiovascular goals, run on even days and bike on odd days. Add some strength training and flexibility exercises to the mix for the most benefit.
• Maintain a healthy diet. Make sure you incorporate calcium- and vitamin D-rich foods in your meals.
• Use the proper equipment. Do not wear old or worn running shoes.
• If pain or swelling occurs, immediately stop the activity and rest for a few days. If continued pain persists, see an orthopaedic surgeon.
• It is important to remember that if you recognize the symptoms early and treat them appropriately, you can return to sports at your normal playing level.

This answer on AllExperts was interesting as well. Talks about recovery, etc. I have been reading a lot because of Abby's wrist pain and have myself all freaked out that there is a fracture that didn't show, etc.

Link Removed

Hugs to you guys. Hope she heals fast!

 

[cathiann]

Oh bummer! She shouldn't feel like she's cheating though--it's not her fault she got injured.

 

[NotAMom]

It's a bummer that she got injured but kids this age heals fast, really fast. Good luck to you guys.

 

[UnoMas]

I'm so sorry. Don't feel guilty. Gym is what she loves and unfortunately gym is a tough sport with lots of hours and, really unfortunately, injuries.

How many hours a week does she train?

I hope she heals very fast like notAmom said. Glad she is still able to petition to states! She earned it...she should NOT feel like she is cheating.

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

Thanks for all the support. I spoke with head coach today and feel much better, she is going to petition for states and will be able to compete if her wrist are better. She was supportive of her getting completely healed so she can train in the summer. I am just having a tough time with my daughter right now she is not happy just conditioning in gym. She says that one of her favorite coaches is being really hard on her because she is injured. I think this might just be her perception of things since she is so unhappy not being able to do everything. I have a new found respect for girls that are injured and still have to go to the gym and just condition!

 

[mariposa]

Glad they are petitioning her for States! Hopefully she will be all healed by then and can compete.

Training during injury is really tough on the girls. I knew it would be, but Abby has done pretty good so far. She is 2 weeks into her injury and only had one day that she didn't want to go. She ended up changing her mind (I told her that I was fine with her just going Tues/Friday each week if she wanted) and I talked to her coaches and picked her up early that day. Last night she had a lot of fun. Said they worked on aerials and she made one, she she was excited. I was freaked out, just what I need, her to get hurt trying to save a fall from that. LOL.

Had a doctor look at her again yesterday. He thinks there might be a small fracture of the distal radius because she still has point tenderness right there. I am taking her for an x-ray on Monday. Hopefully if there was a fracture it will show some healing as we will be almost 2 1/2 weeks out from the injury. He said that even then, sometimes very small fractures won't show, but if it is that small, then we can just treat conservatively based on symptoms (which to me means as if she had a fracture, which is what we are kind of doing anyway).

 

[Panda-girl's Mom]

I hope Abby gets better fast. But I do think with them growing that it is better to let her heal then take a chance. I think this thing was going on with my daughter for a long time before she just could not take the pain anymore. Funny my daughter had a completely better day at gymnastics today too. She got to work on floor dance stuff and her coach that was so called mean to her yesterday was letting her do front tucks today. She has them pretty good so I was not that upset when I heard this. She also got to do some dance throughs on the beam. So she was all smiles when I picked her up today. Tommorrow she is going to IGC for their open house, she is very excited.

 

[Granny Smith]

She is definitely not cheating. At level 5 she may not see a ton of injuries, but as she moves up in the levels and the skills get harder, the more the injuries seem to be around. Petitioning is part of the sport, it's there for the very reason that your dd would be using it. It's to ensure that girls who demonstrate that they clearly belong at States (receiving qualifying scores at invitationals), but are injured for part of the season and can't qualilfy through the normal process should be there.

My dd was injured back in January and she would of petitioned to States for level 8 if the doctor would of medically released her. That didn't happen and she lost the remainder of her season. Oh well, it's very tough but you move on. She'll bounce back and there is always next year.

Your dd - she's getting the chance! Tell her to never feel guilty about that, she's playing by the rules...