WAG Is she out for the season?

[kimute]

General question-- after 1-2 months off, can a gymnast return to competition ready in a month or two? Possibly? I know the devil is in the details, but would love any anecdotes of this happening or not happening for others... Or even opinions.

Some details-- my DD (9 YO l. 6) sprained her wrist mid November and is under strict doctors orders to not use it in gym until after the New Year. She is wearing a protective brace and still doing 20 hours a week-- conditioning, dance, flips, stuff with one arm. But we (and coaches) are taking the dr. orders very seriously. No weight on wrist, no bars. Basically no events.

Coach asked me the other day if we should consider her out for the competitive season. I was surprised. This would be a real bummer since she hasn't competed for a year and half due to our Fall Compulsory / Spring Optionals seasons. She adores competing.

Our meets run from late January through to mid-March. I know she will need some time to strengthen her wrist and get flexibility back before jumping back into the events as well. Bummed for her. I told coach I'd prefer to keep the dream/plan of competing alive and see how it goes.

Is it possible for the dream to be real??

Thanks for sharing. Even if it doesn't look good...

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

There are soooo many variables. Sure, it's possible, depending on how quickly your DD recovers once she is back to practicing full events, and on how rigid your gym is on competition requirements (how clean do the skills need to be?) and where she was at before the injury. There's a huge difference between "she had all the skills she is competing completely ready, polished and clean" vs "she had the skills but had lots of work to do before gym would consider them competition ready", KWIM? Will gym let her compete skills that are still in the polishing stage (assuming she can do them safely) or is gym a stickler for only competing skills that are so clean other gyms accuse them of sandbagging..?
Hands and wrists are a hard one since she can't do much events without them. Bars isn't exactly an easy event, and one that can be really hard to "get back" after a while off. Tumbling and vault will be easier, at least for most kids.
Best of luck to your DD, I hope she heals well enough to compete at least part of her season!

 

[raenndrops]

My OG once took off about three months and came back to compete the following month.

Our gym had a girl break her upper arm in late August. She had surgery and a huge cast. She was originally told she wouldn't be able to compete until AT LEAST January. She competed her first meet of the season 9 days ago and didn't do too bad

It is possible that your daughter may be able to compete - depending on what your gym requires. She may need to scratch bars at first, but ...

 

[munchkin3]

Its possible.......if the injury is 100% and she can train hard then absolutely.....
Vault, easy.....FHS, after 1yr+, she could so it in her sleep.....
Floor, no hands, so her dance and front tuck is great, and all she has to polish is ROBT....
Beam, BHS or BWO.....that's it pretty much, and she could do the FT dismount, no hands.
Bars...........are bars her thing? Did she have a great routine before? This would be the only wildcard........
She could potentially scratch bars on her first meet, but still save her season......

(Make sure she's pain freeeeeeee)

PS- I have seen girls look BETTER after 1 month off........not saying this will happen here, but below L6, it happens all the time......

 

[LizzieLac]

I would say yes, although not a doc. Some good PT after the rest period will help.

She may need to make some changes to the routine to accommodate coming back from an injury.

My DD broke her tibia and fibula October 2014. Had surgery to insert some hardware, lots of PT, and then competed bars and beam in February. Then competed bars, beam and floor in March and had a great meet. Won beam with a 9.4. She took her layout and switch leap out of the floor routine and scored 9.1.

I am a BIG believer in PT! Good luck!

 

[Seeker]

I don't think anyone should write her off yet. Will she be ready for the first meet? Maybe not, but could she get back in there before the end of the season -- I think there's a great shot at that. My daughter is in a cast for another 3 weeks (broken hand) and she is going to practice doing as much as she possibly can. She is definitely planning on competing this season.

 

[my4buffaloes]

I think she can definitely come back to compete level 6 this season - at least some events. Bars might be last and may not happen, but I would think she can compete some events all season. My dd did beam and floor last season only.

 

[kimute]

Wow; these are great stories! I just read them all to my DD. She is pretty negative right now and I'm hoping your thoughts might help her see hope or at least do what she can to work towards competition season.

We go for an MRI tomorrow and a follow-up doctor appointment soon after to get more input on her progress. She isn't pain free so she may still have some weeks until she can use the wrist.

Her gym is pretty darn rigid on having polished routines, but she was pretty ready so we'll see... bars will certainly be the biggest challenge.

LizzieLac, ouch and wow-- what a comeback story! Seeker, I hope your DD heals well for competition season. Please keep me informed on this thread! Thanks to the rest of you for your support and encouragement!

 

[Deleted member 14190]

of course.

 

[munchkin3]

Kimute, On the other hand......the season does not matter if she is injured .......if she has pain she cannot use her wrist. If she pushes on and uses it to compete and competes badly, and ends up doing more damage, you risk permanent damage not to mention inability to continue.
For my son, this injury was career ending......
Take a deep breath.....she is young and she has plenty of time......one season is a drop in the bucket.
Keep me posted on the MRI...I still hope that it's a sprain and not TFCC related....

 

[kayjaybe]

My dd broke 2 fingers on Nov 2. Cast came off 2 weeks ago and she is doing physical therapy. She is back to light tumbling and I'm hoping by her next appt (Jan 6) she will be fully released to train. She is hoping to get back most of her events by the end of Jan. (Maybe not bars).

Since she can continue to do conditioning and other things to keep her head in the game, that will help. My dd started doing 1-handed and no-handed tumbling while still in a cast and even competed L8 floor at a meet while 1 finger was still broken and in a splint.

Good luck to her and keep us posted!

 

[LizzieLac]

Let me also add that this season really won't matter in the scheme of things. A 9 YO level 6 still has plenty of time in the sport and her health is the most important thing. If she needs to miss this season, so be it. Let that motivate her to work hard and come back with renewed focus. Healing comes first.

My DDs story continued (we're still living it, but hopefully coming out the other side now), I will share when I have 2 hours with nothing to do! Point being that it is the health of your child that matters...DH and I really have been learning that!

Your DD will be fine!

 

[beachgirl]

The good news is if she misses the L6 season she can just move onto L7.

 

[kris]

My DD has been fighting with growth plate issues in her wrists this fall. She's just starting back (a couple cartwheels, maybe a few kips) this past week and we are pretty confident she'll be back by state in March though maybe only doing handspring vaults instead of yurchenkos. Our big debate is whether we should buy plane tickets to a big travel meet in January or not. I hope your DD (and mine) heals quickly and completely!

 

[teksquad]

My daughter was " out " for 4 months with a dislocated elbow, and competed a month after she was allowed to resume full training. (she came to practice and conditioned, did what she could without putting weight through her arm, and faithfully did her rehab program in the meantime) She was out for most of the season, and was ready for the last meet of the season, and then state. It can happen! I think doing rehab is key- allowing for healing time *and* gradually progressing rehab exercise, so that the healed area is ready to accept gymnastics forces again, before resuming skills. Best wishes for your daughter!

 

[Muddlethru]

of course.

^^^^^ This.

If she was a Level 9 or Level 10, I'd say it could be difficult to get back in a month or two; but Level 6, very doable. She may not be in optimum shape for her level but I think she can still be competitive.

 

[kimute]

Thank you again everyone for your input and hope! My DD was cleared this morning by her pediatric hand surgeon to start easing back into full training.

First meet is four weeks away, next one is six. She was out for seven (though still conditioning A LOT). Keep your fingers crossed for us! She so wants to compete!

 

[gymnndance]

very doable in my opinion if they are no fears or mental limits

 

[gymnndance]

good luck to both of you and keep us updated

 

[gymdog]

Thank you again everyone for your input and hope! My DD was cleared this morning by her pediatric hand surgeon to start easing back into full training.

First meet is four weeks away, next one is six. She was out for seven (though still conditioning A LOT). Keep your fingers crossed for us! She so wants to compete!

See if you can find a PT who is a former gymnast. I finally found one in my area and this has helped immensely. Other doctors just said "don't do anything" because they didn't really understand and didn't want their to be a gray area. Or said "she's cleared" with no more help. PT we know now is able to describe to me exactly what a child can and can't do, and also works with them in regaining it in the sessions first (easy stuff obviously) where she has more tools to monitor.