Knee Injury

[cocosmom]

Try this...

The injury could be so many things. My only recommendation is that you see a SPORTS MEDICINE SPECIALIST. If you go to a regular ortho or your family doctor, they just say rest, ice, etc. If you go to a sports specialist (talk to coach or other gymnasts for recommendations) their focus is assessing the injury AND getting you back to performance levels efficiently. They also work really closely with physical therapists which is really key for bouncing back for any injury. Also, find a rehab that has worked with gymnasts. We visited one that kept hounding me that my dd was too flexible. We kept saying "She's a gymnast!!!" If you find a phys. ther. that has good experience, you'll get a more efficient rehab.

 

[gymnellie]

We got the results of the MRI today! Her growth plate is severly bruised! The dr. put her out for another 6 weeks. He said that the bruise is so bad that if any further impact is put on it than it can cause the growth plate to become hyperactive, which would make the bones grow more than they should, or do the opposite and make it underactive which would stop the growth of the bones. So she misses another meet! Which in the long run is not that big of deal. She is really staying off of it this time. I already told her that there is not going to be any talking mom into letting her do what the dr said not to. The dr even said that she is not to do any conditioning or dance. When we walked out of the dr.'s office, she said " I am not very happy." I had to make her understand that it is either stay out for six weeks or be injured forever. She chose to stay out for six weeks. It is going to be weird staying home three days that I am normally at the gym with her. Maybe I will have time to clean my house! LOL!

 

[gymsquirt604]

i had a similar problem but it got worse over time, at first when i went to te doctor th ejust did x-rays (no mri) and said it looked ok it could just be swelling.. my knee hurt and seemed like it was full of water. so i just let it go and a few months later i went back and they decided to do the mri. after th emri they had whole lists of problems they found.. they decided to go in and do surgery just to look at th einside and see what to fix and they found a promlem w. the miniscus and my knee cap was tilted. i was back in gym after about 3 months but not all the to full training till about 9 months. i went though the whole mad and disappointed about not doing gym but then i figured that its soo much better for th elong run and if i dont take care of it now then i wont be able to do gymnastics in the long run. so hopefully the MRI will help them see whats wrong in your daughters case. and tell her to listen to her doctors and physical theropy helps get back into gym a.s.a.p! best of luck!!

 

[gym law mom]

Gymnellie---sorry to hear it will be 6 wks of no gym. Plan on taking her by though just to catch up with the team. Did the ortho say anything about some PT? 6 weeks of inactivity will cause some muscles to atrophy a little and she should get with a good therapist as she starts back(actually before). When my daughter was out with basically the same thing she didn't want to sit out tumbling/vault and the therapist told her she could just heal the proper way and still be able to do most of the season or push it and be out for the season and states----she made the same decision your dd did.

We also checked on what she was doing in PE and she ended up sitting out about 4 weeks there because they were doing some games etc. that required running etc. on a hard floor.

 

[bogwoppit]

Sounds like you're making the right decisions. She will heal better if she takes the break.

My dd is just coming back from her long road of injuries. She stopped vaulting, dismounts and tumbling in April after having six months of therapy on her knee for patellar subluxation (jumpers knee). She was discovered to have scoliosis which gave her bursitis in her left hip, at the same time she also developed achilles tendonitis in both ankles. She took six weeks off in the summer and did sports therapy from April until now, which includes electro stimulation, heat and ice therapy, stretching twice daily and eventually strengthening exercises.

Her 1st comp is this weekend, she has only been vaulting for two weeks, and only three times on the regulation board, she will get over the vault and has no pain. (the only way she is allowed to do it ) She has not tumbled more than a backhandspring and she will take big deductions on floor because of it, but she wants to do floor anyway. She can now land her dismounts on regular mats instead of resi pits, so bars and beam are coming along.

Six weeks out of gym was very hard, everything was a challenge to come back to as she missed working on her new skills for this year, therefore she did not advance a level as was planned, if anything there is some regression.

But, at 11 years old she has come to realise that her long term health is most important, she is not going to the Olympics, or even the provincials this year. It is a tough lesson to learn when she see's her team mates progressing and doing well, but it is a good life lesson, though a tough one to watch.

She unfortunately still had to go to gym to drop of littlest Bog, though it kept her in touch with the girls and her great coach. The coach, by the way, was the best, she really took the sports therapists advice to heart and brought her back slowly, spotted tons of landings and skills, added mats etc and even incorporated her stretching into the general warm ups. She also recognised that DD would so better long term if she is not allowed to do some things just yet.

Over xmas she might be able to begin working on tumbling for her next comp in Feb, we shall see.

All that to say, Gymnellie, you are doing a great job, patience is rewarded in the end. She will thank you one day, now she just needs to adapt. I also agree with the earlier poster who sugested therapy, I would recommend finding one who works with atheletes, maybe through your local football club or even gym. Ours travelled all over the States for two years with Cirque Du Soleil, she is the BOMB.

Good luck...

 

[MartinaE]

Wow...6 weeks...that`s a pretty long time....But for sure it is right to follow the doctor`s instructions and take the recommended break. I for sure agree it`s the best in the long run, and your dd will see it the same way for sure. It´s sad she has to miss another meet, but after the break I`m sure she will be back strong and catch up again fast.