WAG Post workout soreness.

[Gymettemom]

What do you guys recommend for post workout soreness. My DD will be 10 years old in a few weeks and has started complaining of back soreness after practice. She started 4 day/week practices this season and seems to be feeling it in her back. Tonight I put her to bed with Tylenol and moist heat. Any other suggestions out there?


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[SurpriseGymMom]

Our go-to remedies for soreness (assuming no "real" injury, just soreness and minor aches) are baths with Epsom salt, rub with arnica gel, ibuprofen and ice packs.
If she's doing a lot of back walk overs etc, have her do some cat stretches and child's pose to round the back. My 9yo feels it in her back too if she has been doing tons of walk overs on beam during practice...

 

[Terry]

To me, ice was the key. short (10 - 12 minutes) ice baths ,or ice packs.

 

[iwannacoach]

Any or all of the above. Make sure she drinks 8oz of water, or more, when taking ibuprophen. I like tylenol for muscle pain, ibuprophen for joint pain, and both combined in alternating 3 hour intervals for pain that hovers in the inconvenient range and heading for the compensating range.

Talk to with the coach about this tomorrow, and follow up by letting him or her know if nothing changes in a few days. If the coach says they aren't doing anything that could give her a sore back...... Oh really? You mean all that archy stuff is totally harmless?

Maybe they don't do more than the minimum amount of arching, and perhaps this is just a case of muscles having to strengthen and get used to a different set of skillwork and conditioning.

Do all of the above and take her to the doctor, just to be safe.

 

[Terry]

I agree with iwannacoach also that you should talk to the coach and get his/her ideas. Maybe make sure she is working abs enough. strong abs may reduce some of the back pain.

A visit to a sports medicine doc also a good idea.

 

[Granny Smith]

My dd has a glass of chocolate milk after practice, it is probably one of the best recovery drinks out there (and it's chocolate milk, what kid doesn't like chocolate milk - ha ha!)

 

[gymmomtoo]

My dd has a glass of chocolate milk after practice, it is probably one of the best recovery drinks out there (and it's chocolate milk, what kid doesn't like chocolate milk - ha ha!)

That would be my child! Hates chocolate milk and her coaches keep pushing the girls to drink it.

If the back pain continues, I'd take her to the doctor--better to get it checked out and KNOW it's nothing, than to assume and possibly make an injury worse.

 

[MaryA]

DD has some bubble bath that is supposed to "soothe sore muscles." When she first switched gyms and upped her hours from 7.5 to 15, we went through a lot of that stuff. I don't know if it really helps or if it was just the placebo effect, but it smelled nice and made us both feel like we were doing something to help. Once she's 12, our in-house kenesiologist likes Aleve for pain, but it's not advised for children under 12.

DD is going through some back issues right now. Please keep tabs on it and see a doctor if it doesn't get better soon. My DD didn't tell anybody about her back pain till she had already had it for nearly 3 months (at which time we had x-rays and bone scans to rule out fractures) and now nothing seems to be making it feel better. If she had told us sooner, maybe this would all be behind us by now.

 

[MeetDirector]

Foam roller and ice. Ibuprofen if needed. The foam roller and sometimes a simple tennis ball used to "roll out" the muscles seems to work wonders. All of dd's teammates use them before and after practice. Mine has 2 foam rollers at home and she stretches all the time. For spot muscle tightness we use Sore No More ointment and then Traumeel when really bad.

 

[Granny Smith]

I will only have my dd take acetaminophen for pain as ibuprofen is said to hinder bone healing. If by chance you are missing a fracture, you can be doing more damage with ibuprofen.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I will only have my dd take acetaminophen for pain as ibuprofen is said to hinder bone healing. If by chance you are missing a fracture, you can be doing more damage with ibuprofen.

Interesting, I have never heard that before!

 

[drjosh]

You have to make certain this is soreness and not pain. Pain is not normal for adolescents or children to experience. Pain and soreness are warning signals that should be heeded.

Ibuprofen and other NSAIDs are dangerous long term for young athletes. They interfere with recover and can upset the lining of the stomach. Acetaminophen has been shown to be extraordinarily dangerous for the liver. I would not suggest using either of these for any given time unless your physician has expressly prescribed these to your daughter.

If you have been to your physician/provider and they have cleared your daughter of any lower back fractures, here are some videos to follow to help her recover and decrease soreness:



Nutrition is also paramount for these long hours in practice. Making sure she is fully fueled before she gets to practice, during practice, and having a killer post workout meal is critical if you want her to recover and not have these issues.

Core control also needs to be addressed. Making sure she lands and jumps properly, while maintaining control of her body.

And lastly, 4 days a week might be more than her little body can handle. Throwing more hours as a young body isn't the answer to progression or health. If she continues to have issues, when you've addressed the other issues above, then you need to have a serious discussion about decreasing time spent in the gym.

Hope this helps!

 

[Gymettemom]

Thank you so much Dr Josh. We definitely need to get a better handle on her nutrition. I hate running off to the dr. I always get the impression drs think moms are crazy. I probably should get over that. Thanks again.

 

[GymMom&Coach]

I recently hired a massage therapist that specializes in sports medicine. My daughter seeing him once a week for an hour. It has been helping a lot, plus he gives me some tips to work with her at home.