To go back... or to be done?

[gymnastgirlz10]

hi everyone! so here is my problem
so the summer of 2010 i tore my ACL and meniscus in my right knee. i had surgery and went through rehab and everything then went back to gymnastics in February of 2011. Once i had all my skills back and starting getting new skills i partially tore my mcl in my right elbow, so i was out for the summer of 2011. i started gymnastics again in September of 2011. I got all my skills back fairly quickly and was ready to compete level 9 this season. A week before my first meet, the end of October i tore my ACL and meniscus in my left knee and i just had surgery almost a week ago. Everyone is asking me if i am going to go back or if i am going to quit, and honestly i am stuck. i don't know what to do. i am wondering what you would do if this was you ( or your son/daughter) in this situation. Thanks so much!

 

[aerialriver]

We all get injured, but it sounds like you have something going on if you keep tearing ligaments. Ask your doctor about it, that is going to be your best resource if it is a good idea to continue or not. Also maybe you can continue at a lower level? Whatever happens good luck!

 

[emorymom]

Can you segue your skills into another sport that won't tear you up ... why do these kind of injuries happen? Would they happen in diving or tramp? Can you switch to a low hours team for fun?

No, I wouldn't recommend creating any more scar tissue. Age forty can hurt bad enough without it, and you'll probably want to be around for a while after that.

 

[coachmolly]

It sounds like something is going on that you keep getting similar injuries one after the other, I would suggest you first talk to your Dr. and ask about the long-term effects of such injuries and the risk of this happening again. Keeping your body healthy is the most important thing, not only now but also making sure you're not going to be creating significant problems for the future. I was ultimately told by a doctor that me body was just not made to withstand the constant pounding and demands of gymnastics, and unless I wanted more serious problems in the future, I was advised to quit. It's possible that your injuries have been just kind of freak incidents that happen to be similar to one another, but only your Dr. would be able to help you figure that out.

 

[gymnastgirlz10]

Well my physical therapist insists that i try something different but there's not too many sports out there that you don't use your knees for... but my Dr that has done my surgeries says that i can most defiantly go back again if i really want to. i asked my mom why and she said that the doctor said it might be because of Lyme Disease ( i had it really bad when i was 5). but when i tore everything it was all freak accidents, i wasn't doing anything wrong... but thank you for all of your advice!

 

[cher062]

I think if you were my Daughter I would have you stop. Gymnastics is only one small part of a child's life and I would be worried about later on in life how these injuries are going to effect my DD. I wouldn't want there to be some major issues in her future because of this. As a Mom I would have a very very long talk with the Dr to see what future issues it might cause my DD. I wouldn't want her to be crippled at 30 because she wanted to do another year or two of gymnastics.

 

[coachmolly]

I think I might get an opinion from another doctor. I have a real problem with a doctor who knows about all of the issues and doesn't even make mention of the potential long-term consequences continuing in the sport COULD cause, because there definitely are some. They aren't guaranteed to happen, but I think it's a doctors responsibility to make you fully aware of all of the worst case scenarios, at least that's what all of my doctors have seemed to believe, to help you make the best, most well-thought out, and educated decision about your future in the sport as well as the future well-being of your body.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

no comment on what the poster should do or not. rather point out a concern after a lower extremity injury (in this instance knee but more common with hamstring/calf muscle pulls) that when this occurs you must come back very slowly and allow the body below to heal and the body to re-adapt so that no compensation is taking place. bottom line, the gymnast injures a lower extremity and then injures the elbow due to peripheral compensation. take note on this one coaches and parents.