Women Hyperextending knee in front aerial

[emmagraced31]

Today I was at the cheer gym I go to working on front aerials on the tumble track onto the big pillow mat. This is the first time I’ve ever worked on front aerials. so I was doing them and at first wasn’t landing them then towards the end I started doing them and I kinda landed on my heal and then I would fall and my knee kept hyperextending and it was horrible pain and I was really close to getting that skill! I tried to ask my instructor why I kept landing that way and he just said I had to lift my hips up more and arch and couldn’t explain why my knee was hyperextending! The inside of my knee is hurting and I put KT tape on it and doing R.I.C.E. to heal faster. I’ve already been told I lock back into hypertension in my knees at dance... My question is why is my knee hyperextending badly when I land my front Aerial and how can I stop it from happening in the future? Any tips or drills are greatly appreciated!

- Emma

 

[Aussie_coach]

There are a number of factors that go into making the front aerial successful. Any one of them could be causing problems. The angle of the front and back leg on take off, the way you are using your arms, the position of your head, the position of your torso, a lack of flexibility or strength I’m a particular area and so on. You really need the trained eye of an experienced coach to watch and give feedback. It doesn’t sound like yiu are getting that.

Please don’t underestimate the dangers of this skill. Skills that land on one leg have a much higher danger of injury, as the impact is not evenly distributed on both legs. You can do a very serious injury landing it badly, they can result in knee dislocation, torn ACL, breaks etc. I recommend you seek quality coaching on this one.

 

[Carabistouille]

Also, if you are still in pain, you should go to the doctor to check if your knee is alright.

 

[jamieintexas]

I am not a fan of landing one legged skills on a pit pillow. I feel like it is too easy to land wrong.

 

[Muddlethru]

All of the above. I don’t know if it is a good idea to learn aerials on a tumble track either. You need to be able get the feeling of pushing off firmly on one foot; one that a tumble track will not provide. You are better off practicing on a mat on a gymnastics floor than a tumble track. You also don’t need the height a tumble track will give you and aerials are done from a stationary standing position. This may not be what you want to hear but the way you are teaching yourself to do an aerial may cause you more harm than good.