Hi,
I'm not a high level gymnast nor a coach, but I do have a scientific background and I can tell you my thoughts from there. And also just my thoughts as a caring person who's read more gymnasts' stories.
Is this normal? I think yes and no. I think a lot of gymnasts at higher level go through periods of injury. In a way it's also not strange that injuries come in periods with one following another: you've been out of the sport a while, so you're more likely to make mistakes. You've been having to rest one part of your body, so you're more likely to overuse other parts.
Sometimes, injuries and bad luck can just happen. However, some things can be done to make them less likely. And some things may play a role that can help you understand what's going on.
Things that can help:
- Strengthening muscles that support the joints. Work with a PT for this and don't overdo it.
- Nutrition. You mention calcium rich foods and protein, and those are very important. But there's so much more that goes into keeping an athlete's body healthy. Among others: Vitamins and minerals are needed for proper maintenance, fats are needed for proper vitamin function and hormonal functions, carbs are needed for fuelling... Basically, you need enough of a lot of things, and from some things an athlete needs a lot. 20 hours per week practise is a huge amount and many gymnasts underfuel at that point. If she keeps having issues, you may want to check with a
good sports dietician to see if she's eating enough. I always recommend checking out christina anderson (
https://christinaandersonrdn.com/the-blog/). I only train a few hours a week myself, and I already notice how much better I heal up when I eat better (which in my case means eating more).
- Care and time: rushing things when coming back from an injury is a good way to get another injury. You don't just have to be careful with the injured limb, but in general. Going back to the old level of skills too fast risks making mistakes and injuring that way. Going back to the old level of intensity too fast can risk overuse injuries (both amount of time training and the intensity of training). Of course you don't have to take years to get skills back, but know there it may be a trade off between speed and safety that you need to carefully consider.
- Proper recovery after training: this can help a bit too. Aside from fuelling and sufficient rest which are your recovery foundation, you can try heat, cold, or massages. Generally research shows that all methods work about equally well, and they all work a lot better than doing nothing. Cold should be applied short, while heat should be applied for a much longer time period. If it hurts the skin, it's too hot/cold. Do not put heat on an injury generally.
- enough sleep.
Other things to consider:
- Puberty: at 14, she should be having her puberty by now. (If she isn't, she may not be eating enough for how much she trains). If she's having her puberty, then she is more injury prone for now. There are several reasons for that. Her energy needs will likely increase which can cause underfuelling which can cause injury. Her body is changing which can cause her to have to readjust to her new body, and makes it more likely to make mistakes on skills because she hasn't adjusted yet. The body growing and changing can also just make it more vulnerable even if the fuelling and skill adjusting aren't issues. The good news: This can all be managed by the things mentioned above, and it will work itself out in the end.
- Stress and pressure: stress in any parts of life can make her more prone to injury. This includes pressure from parents or coaches to perform or heal, stress over social things, or school, or any other source of stress.
Hope this was helpful, and perhaps gymnasts and coaches have good things to add from their perspective.
