Osteochondrits in elbow-Does anyone know what aggrevates it the most in MAG

[catlover]

Hi . My 14yr old son is a L7 MAG competitor and was diagnoised in Dec 2011 with Osteochondritis in the elbow. He did 6 weeks of no use and then was allowed to put a little weight on it. He has been told that he can now start a slow transition into using his arm but no handstands. The doctor said he can do bar and rings but the coach is surprised as he said that is hard on the elbows and can't understand why the doctor has said no to handstands. Has anyone had experience of Osteochondritis and if so how did the healing go. The doctor said they will MRI again at 6 mths. My son really doesn't want to give up gym. He was so upset at being put out of training.

 

[flippin out]

My dd doesn't have this, but I am familiar with OCD (friend has it), and actually so did Dominique Dawes I believe. It is genetic, but aggravated by sports. BUT depending on the severity of the OCD (osteo-chondritis-disitis [sp]) it is not career ending. Dominique was diagnosed before the Olympics (not sure how long before...could've been years for all I know), my point is....she still is an Olympian!!!

If the OCD is severe blood supply can be so hindered that the lack of blood supply to the bone can cause weakened bone (fractures). Surgery is an option for this. I believe the surgery requires 'drilling tiny holes' in the bone to promote blood flow. (I'm thinking that Dawes had the surgery, but can't remember?).

Weight bearing is a problem, but actually, twisting motions with weight bearing are probably worse. It will be a long time after being given the go-ahead to start weight bearing Before he is allowed to do something like a round off.

I do not mean to sound pessimistic in any way, as I said, OCD is NOT career ending....it just makes the journey a bit harder. Make sure to follow the Dr's orders - this condition is nothing to ignore!

 

[pattymello]

I don't know much about OCD but in terms of weight bearing Rings, Pommel and Pbars should be your main concern. High bar shouldn't be a problem if hanging doesn't cause pain. Flippin out was saying that twisting motions with weight bearing is the worst in which case i would be especially worried about Rings and possible Pommel. Rings is kind of a scary apparatus because it puts so much strain on the elbow and shoulder joints, having a pre-existing condition could be a nightmare.

 

[Granny Smith]

My dd was diagnosed with OCD back in May 2011. Her's was worse than your ds's though because her elbow started locking and it was determined that she had bone chips in the elbow that was causing the lock. She ended up having surgery in June 2011, where he removed several 1cm bone chips, along with other debris. I do not remember her having the "tiny holes drilled" to enhoance blood flow though. After the surgery, the surgeon told us that she had OCD with Traumatic Stage IV Arthritis. He said it was pretty bad. She started PT 2 weeks after the surgery (beginning of July), was released from PT the 1st week of August and was able to start making her come back from that point on. Very slow and limited. She did attend high performers camp in Sept, where she did everything but vault and only tumbled on tumble trak. She started vaulting the beginning of Nov. She is repeating L9 again, but there have been no problems to this point. She does have to go back to get follow up x-rays in May after her season is over.

Just wanted to add that the elbow that she had the OCD in was her non-dominant arm. It was definitely something that just happened over time. Coaches do think that she might of hit her elbow at some point when she was doing a shootover on the bars, but not enough to take her out and then over time the chips are what really caused the problem. She was in pain, but was able to work through it until after her season and then at the last week of her season is when the locking started. At first we thought it was tendonitis, until the locking and then we knew it was more serious. She has come back strong, really not missing anything. the only thing that she stopped doing was a valdez on the floor (no biggie.)

 

[profmom]

My goodness, your daughter is one tough cookie, Granny Smith!

 

[Granny Smith]

Ha-ha profmom, Yes she is. We have pictures of what the surgeon removed and what the bone looked like before and after. I remember her saying to me... see, I was in pain and you didn't believe me! It's not that I didn't believe her, it was that she was so non-chalant about the pain, I didn't know how bad it was. She was so "whatever, I'm going to Easterns last year" I had no clue. It was her decision to continue through the pain and I have to say, she chugged along like a trooper!

OCD is scary and I am concerned about her other elbow. I have no idea if she is more prone to develop it in the other elbow or not... I may ask these types of questions when we go back to the Dr in May.

To the OP - I would just wonder if all the rest and what not is just putting off the inevitable (surgery). If he has OCD and he continues to do gymnastics it's probably going to get worse. If you rest it, it might start to feel better, but once they go back to the hard core gymnastics, he's just going to end up in the same position. It sounds like he is not at the same point my dd was and rest may cure all, but these gymnasts use their arms/elbow and put a lot of weight and do crazy things on them. If the time comes, do be open to surgery.

 

[flippin out]

Granny Smith - Friend also had a severe case that involved bone chips. Her surgery was a 2-in-1 deal and involved cleaning out the bone fragments (phase 1) and also drilling the tiny holes to promote blood flow (phase 2). I'm not sure how friend's case ranks in severity, but she did not start any weight bearing until 5 months post-op and still is not allowed to do round-offs. Maybe that was the worst case scenario though? I'm so glad that your dd is doing so well - she's one tough cookie! Also, I agree with you on the 'putting off the inevitable' --- hope the rest works though

 

[profmom]

For the OP -- well, first I hope your son doesn't go through any of the more invasive stuff discussed here and the rest resolves the problem successfully! But second, I wonder if there's any way you can get an opinion from an ortho person familiar with MAG. The doctor's advice does sound oddly contradictory. Or as a far less good alternative, maybe you could show the doc some videos of what your son actually does with that elbow when he's on the rings and bar, and then ask him if it's safe to do this kind of stuff?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

assuming that the diagnosis is correct. osteochondritis dissecans is not life threatening or career ending. but it can cause problems if the required rest is not complied with.

yurchenkos and pommel horse (not p-bars or rings) are what exacerbate OCD. i'll also assume he has elbows that go a bit past 'straight' (hypermobile) and could be described as 'popeye arms'.

do what the Doc says. rest. if you don't, surgery will be imminent. and most kids describe an 'ache' kinda like a toothache right at the epochondyle head at the 'funny bone'. he needs to pay attention to this in the future. usually 2 or 3 weeks rest after 'feeling' this 'ache' can help get thru the episodes. eventually, his growth plates will close and the bone in that area will become more dense and the problem will abate. unfortunately, this could take some time depending on how long it takes him to grow.

and to GrannySmith, there's no statistical consistency in this problem. it may or may not go to the other elbow although it has in some kids. it can also show up in one or both knees inexplicably.

 

[bookworm]

My daughter had surgery in her elbow for OCD (she had the bone chips removed and the drilling in the humerus to stimulate regrowth) ...took the 6-9 months COMPLETELY OFF from gym as her surgeon demanded, did PT and has returned to gym with no subsequent elbow issues....her teammates with the similar surgery (and different surgeons) returned to gym in 6-9 weeks and have had nothing but problems since ...repeat surgeries, pain, limited mobility and some quit. I discussed this in another thread so it may sound familiar but listen to your docs and take the time off to heal it and it won't be career ending...this was 3 years ago so knock on wood!