Parents Lower Back Pain During Cast on Bars?

[notmyrealname]

I'm having trouble finding info on this, as most back pain for gymnastics pulls up backwalkovers/frontwalkovers and arching skills, but I can't find anything on what part of her technique (if any) would cause back pain during cast on bars? For reference she's 7 and competing xcel gold this season. We recently went to the chiropractor for an adjustment due to her feeling low back pain on any arching skill. We've rested and iced and she felt better after the visit (we've also restricted front/back walkovers for now) and have been working on building core strength but I asked her coach and she wasn't sure if casting could cause back pain, and/or if there would be technical errors that could contribute to lower back pain on the cast. So I am hoping someone with more knowledge and experience than myself could help me on this? Or lead me in the right direction. Thanks!

 

[NutterButter]

Back pain on any arching skill is a red flag. Your DD needs to be evaluated by an ortho who has experience working with gymnasts. Ideally she should have an MRI to see what's going on (xrays alone don't always reveal disc problems or stress fractures). You are wise to restrict anything that causes pain. Once you have a diagnosis your DD can work with a PT with experience treating gymnasts or dancers. My DD had two rounds of stress fractures. One took her out of the sport for 9 months while the second was caught early enough where she just needed a couple months off. Your DD should not be seeing a chiro for this (nothing personal, just not the right professional in this case).

 

[notmyrealname]

Back pain on any arching skill is a red flag. Your DD needs to be evaluated by an ortho who has experience working with gymnasts. Ideally she should have an MRI to see what's going on (xrays alone don't always reveal disc problems or stress fractures). You are wise to restrict anything that causes pain. Once you have a diagnosis your DD can work with a PT with experience treating gymnasts or dancers. My DD had two rounds of stress fractures. One took her out of the sport for 9 months while the second was caught early enough where she just needed a couple months off. Your DD should not be seeing a chiro for this (nothing personal, just not the right professional in this case).

Thank you so much for your reply! I didn't realize you wouldn't be able to see a stress fracture on an X-ray. I figured seeing the X-ray cleared was a good sign. Gosh. If she did have a stress fracture would the pain always happen? or could it come and go?

 

[NutterButter]

Yes, the pain can come and go both with a stress fracture and with other disc issues. It's a sign that your DD hasn't had enough time to heal. That's why I suggest pushing for an MRI and seeking treatment from someone who has experience with gymnasts. My DD had a clear xray initially done with her pediatrician but the MRI a couple of weeks later revealed 3 stress fractures and one bulging disc. At the time she had some minor pain but also still competed L9 all around the week before the MRI. There are also some anatomical abnormalities that people can have which predispose them to back issues. One of my DDs teammates had this and had to quit the sport. My DD had much more pain with her 2nd round of stress fracture (and it was not nearly as serious as the 1st time).

 

[BusyMomof2]

Agree with @NutterButter definitely see an ortho who knows gymnastics. We had a girl on our team who was having back pain during casting and it was a fairly serious issue with fluid in between her vertebrae (not sure of the official name). Her pain would come and go but was most frequent during bars and backwards tumbling. Her mom said her MRI was "lit up like a Christmas tree" but an X-ray didn't show anything.