Parents When is enough enough with injuries?

[GymnastMomX2]

Starting to wonder what are we even doing here? What is this all for? It feels like my daughter has been injured more often that she hasn't.

My daughter started competing in 2019 as a level 4, no injuries there. Then covid hit and she didn't compete again until her level 7 season in 2022, this was the only optional season she's gotten through all meets at 100%. That summer she was injured on and off with ankle issues, did a bunch of PT, ankles are stronger than ever now. She suffered a scary concussion the end of the summer and was out for another 6 weeks, came back ready for level 8 and then right before the mock meet dislocated her shoulder. She missed the beginning of the season but was able to come back in time to qualify to state and regionals, but didn't have her full difficulty until the last meet. She pulled a hamstring that summer, but was still able to get ready for level 9. She got two good meets in and then got hurt again, first a strained back, then broke her arm. Took her almost 3 months to fully come back from that, just in time for summer training. Had a great summer training, got all her level 10 skills and then her elbow started hurting a few weeks ago. Just got the dreaded OCD diagnosis and are in the process of talking to a couple different Dr.'s and figuring out a plan. We don't know for sure yet, but seems like the minimum, if she's lucky, recovery time is 6 months, which likely means no season at all again this year.

She will be a freshman in HS this year, and she is 100% all in, won't even consider doing something else. She is dead set on competing in college but I'm not sure heart can't take this anymore. I'll also add we've been working with a registered dietitian/nutritionist for 6+ months now, we've had her vitamin D checked (low end of normal, but we've supplemented and brought it up), we have a great PT, feels like we're doing all the things right to support her, but I'm tired. Seeing her cry for hours with the latest diagnosis broke me.

Not even sure what advice I'm looking for here, am I crazy for letting her continue, any success stories with girls with similar injury paths, or coming back from OCD to compete successfully in college? Shes a bars girl, so if she's going to get recruited its 100% going to be because of her bars... but will she still be a bars girl after this injury? sigh.

 

[B&M's mom]

Been there, done that. It's so hard to watch them keep wanting to continue when you know that it may not be in their best interests long term. My kid was extremely talented, on the elite track but then the injuries started. She kept coming back. Between the ages of 13 and 16 she was probably more injured than healthy but she finally had enough and walked away at 16. I spent most of those years praying that she wouldn't injure herself anymore. I couldn't force her to stop but I made sure that she knew that she could walk out anytime she wanted. (FYI, she had OCD in both knees, we later found out that her knee caps were out of alignment so her knees didn't function properly which probably contributed to the injuries. Wouldn't have bothered her if she wasn't an gymnast.)

She started diving as a junior in high school. Can't say it was injury free, in fact, at her first meet she hit the board hard enough to cut her leg, only time in her entire diving career I've seen someone do that. But she finished the meet and took 4th. She dove in college at a D1 school and enjoyed that experience. She will now tell you that she will always consider herself a gymnast but is really happy that she walked away.

So, feel free to vent away. There are probably many others who are feeling the same.

 

[Liza]

I can definitely empathize. My daughter is entering sixth grade and is a level 8. Last year when she was at level 7 she has the highest bars score out of all divisions at the state meet. She also is a bars girl and who was diagnosed with OCD about a month ago. She was out for about six weeks last year dealing with the OCD as well. After meeting with her sports doctor and the surgeon we opted for surgery ( this week). Talking to the surgeon really helped her understand that this is just a pause in gymnastics and not a goodbye. Therapy has also helped my daughter come to terms with this.

 

[HopefulGymnast]

One thing that stands out to me is how impressively your daughter has kept progressing despite all the injuries.

Do you feel there is any pattern in the injuries? E.g. are they all related to overuse, are they all related to accidents with trying skills too fast, are they all related to sth else... If there's a pattern, there may be an underlying cause or preventative action.
- It's good that she's seeing a nutritionist. Too low energy intake is a common cause for injury in gymnasts.
- Would you consider having a meeting with a PT for preventative evaluation and strategies? You could check for things like hypermobility or any unstable joints and see how to stabilise them before injury.
- Do you feel her gym is good for her? Not letting her unsafely do things she's not ready for, not over-stressing uninjured parts of the body (e.g. doing too much bars work because her ankles are hurt). I'm not hearing any big warning signs, I'm not an expert at all, I'm just listing all the practical factors there could be in theory.
- Could puberty and growth spurts play a role? Injuries are more likely during puberty and growth, both because the body is more fragile when growing and changing, and because skills are harder and feel different. Note: the only solution for this is time, patience, and limiting all the other risk factors. The problems from growth and puberty are temporary, they will be fixed when the body finds its new balance.

I wrote a lot more on all of this here: https://chalkbucket.com/threads/too-many-injuries.70985/#post-640370

Perhaps that thread can also help you find people who are in the same boat?

As for if you're insane for continuing... only you and your family can figure that out. I think before you start thinking of that though, you may want to make sure there's no other factors at play that will pass with time or with other measures.

Will she still be a bars girl? That depends what you mean and on her. It's very likely that upon fully healing, she'll get back into the swing of things and with time be great on bars again. But she's still young, so don't count her out on anything. For all we know, we'll see her as a college all arounder because this time of arm rest gave her a chance to strengthen her legs for floor or her balance for beam. If she still has the passion, it's really possible that she'll still be good at bars when she returns to it. In the end only time will tell, but from what I know a lot is still possible. It depends on how her body recovers, but perhaps moreso on what she wants coming out of this injury.
Rebecca Andrade had 3 ACL tears and it didn't stop her from being a vault woman.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Do you feel there is any pattern in the injuries? E.g. are they all related to overuse, are they all related to accidents with trying skills too fast, are they all related to sth else... If there's a pattern, there may be an underlying cause or preventative action.
- It's good that she's seeing a nutritionist. Too low energy intake is a common cause for injury in gymnasts.
- Would you consider having a meeting with a PT for preventative evaluation and strategies? You could check for things like hypermobility or any unstable joints and see how to stabilise them before injury.
- Do you feel her gym is good for her? Not letting her unsafely do things she's not ready for, not over-stressing uninjured parts of the body (e.g. doing too much bars work because her ankles are hurt). I'm not hearing any big warning signs, I'm not an expert at all, I'm just listing all the practical factors there could be in theory.
- Could puberty and growth spurts play a role? Injuries are more likely during puberty and growth, both because the body is more fragile when growing and changing, and because skills are harder and feel different. Note: the only solution for this is time, patience, and limiting all the other risk factors. The problems from growth and puberty are temporary, they will be fixed when the body finds its new balance.

I wrote a lot more on all of this here: https://chalkbucket.com/threads/too-many-injuries.70985/#post-640370

Perhaps that thread can also help you find people who are in the same boat?

As for if you're insane for continuing... only you and your family can figure that out. I think before you start thinking of that though, you may want to make sure there's no other factors at play that will pass with time or with other measures.

Will she still be a bars girl? That depends what you mean and on her. It's very likely that upon fully healing, she'll get back into the swing of things and with time be great on bars again. But she's still young, so don't count her out on anything. For all we know, we'll see her as a college all arounder because this time of arm rest gave her a chance to strengthen her legs for floor or her balance for beam. If she still has the passion, it's really possible that she'll still be good at bars when she returns to it. In the end only time will tell, but from what I know a lot is still possible. It depends on how her body recovers, but perhaps moreso on what she wants coming out of this injury.
Rebecca Andrade had 3 ACL tears and it didn't stop her from being a vault woman.

Thanks for the link to that other thread.

As for a pattern, I'd say no, most of the injuries seem to be random/freak things, however I have a hunch it could all somehow be nutrition related. Or just really really bad luck. I saw you referenced Christina Anderson, that's who we've been working with for 6+ months now, and she's seen significant growth and weight gain and strength increases since then.

I feel pretty good about her gym, they hardly do any hard landings, do lots of progressions, don't let them try skills they aren't ready for. They have added in a lot of pre-hab work, especially for ankle strength etc. My daughter is also a big chicken and overly cautious, so she 1000% won't try a skill unless she feels comfortable.

We were working with a gymnast specific PT preventatively last year, but they were overwhelming for my daughter and it just got to be too much so we stopped. I will say every joint she's had a past injury on is stronger than ever, her ankles, shoulders etc. and she owes that to her PT 100%.

Anyway, I appreciate the insight, definitely going to let her lead the way as far as being done, and so far she is still all in, I'm just along for the ride.