Men Wrist overuse injury

[Dahlialover]

I’m sorry. Prayers for good news!

Thank you!

 

[Dahlialover]

My son is level 7 this year and has injured growth plates in both wrists. Started with slight pain, purchased wrists braces and continued with pain. Went to sports medicine and X-rays confirmed both wrists needed immobilization. We casted one and braced the other for 3 weeks. Significant growth plate healing at 3.5 week mark. Out of cast and brace and just started PT. Anticipated a 3 month healing process. Hopefully start impact training after 2.5 months. Definitely get it looked at so your son doesn’t further damage growth plates if that’s the issue. I feel like we tried to work through the discomfort too long and now we are having a long recovery to fix the damage. Best of luck.

I hope your son is healing quickly. How’s PT going? Best wishes!

 

[gymmom_1234]

I’m glad the coach didn’t name it the cripple corner. You didn’t mess up! Don’t blame yourself. There aren’t enough boys options where the health of the boys is the main focus. That’s not your fault. The coach should be driving a safe schedule, not leaving it up to parents when parents can’t know what’s best in a sport that many are new to.

 

[#BGymnast]

Panda Paws (sometimes called tiger paws) can be good for wrists, although they often seem to be sold out. They are leather and go around your wrists for support.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

I’m so sorry you are both dealing with this, my daughter missed the end of her 2024 season due to a broken arm, and then the entire 2025 season due to elbow surgery in her other arm. It was a rough year+ and to be honest she still isn’t fully where she needs to be as a sophomore level 10. The mental part of it is so hard. She did talk to a therapist for a few months and that helped a lot. Hoping your son heals fast.

 

[Dahlialover]

I’m so sorry you are both dealing with this, my daughter missed the end of her 2024 season due to a broken arm, and then the entire 2025 season due to elbow surgery in her other arm. It was a rough year+ and to be honest she still isn’t fully where she needs to be as a sophomore level 10. The mental part of it is so hard. She did talk to a therapist for a few months and that helped a lot. Hoping your son heals fast.

Thank you. Sorry about your daughter’s injuries. It’s such a challenging aspect of this sport. I’m really impressed by the gymnasts who persevere through multiple injuries. I don’t know if I could do it. I hope your daughter has a great season.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Thank you. Sorry about your daughter’s injuries. It’s such a challenging aspect of this sport. I’m really impressed by the gymnasts who persevere through multiple injuries. I don’t know if I could do it. I hope your daughter has a great season.

Thank you!

 

[Dahlialover]

My son was able to get the MRI. Fortunately, the tendons and growth plate look fine. The MRI showed a partially healed stress reaction with trace edema remaining in the metaphysis of the radius and ulna of both wrists. Basically, it’s partially healed gymnast’s wrist that was caught early enough to avoid serious growth plate damage. No surprises there.

Unfortunately, the doctor said we should have a phone appointment this week to discuss the results , but he doesn’t have any appointments for 5 weeks! I managed to get a referral to a pediatric sports medicine doctor approved by my insurance, but we have to wait until mid-January for that appointment. I’ll see the gym PT next week, and we can try to figure out what to do with him in the meantime.

Anyway, I think we will soon be headed into the rehab phase. I don’t anticipate a quick recovery, since he is still having a lot of pain. I’ve decided to start focusing in on nutrition, since there is a lot of room for improvement there.

My other son also broke his wrist recently, so now I have two hyperactive children rotting their brains on video games and no one to help me take the garbage out! Boo.

 

[Lynn08]

My son was able to get the MRI. Fortunately, the tendons and growth plate look fine. The MRI showed a partially healed stress reaction with trace edema remaining in the metaphysis of the radius and ulna of both wrists. Basically, it’s partially healed gymnast’s wrist that was caught early enough to avoid serious growth plate damage. No surprises there.

Unfortunately, the doctor said we should have a phone appointment this week to discuss the results , but he doesn’t have any appointments for 5 weeks! I managed to get a referral to a pediatric sports medicine doctor approved by my insurance, but we have to wait until mid-January for that appointment. I’ll see the gym PT next week, and we can try to figure out what to do with him in the meantime.

Anyway, I think we will soon be headed into the rehab phase. I don’t anticipate a quick recovery, since he is still having a lot of pain. I’ve decided to start focusing in on nutrition, since there is a lot of room for improvement there.

My other son also broke his wrist recently, so now I have two hyperactive children rotting their brains on video games and no one to help me take the garbage out! Boo.

(Totally trying to be funny here...)

They can each use their one good hand and work as a team to take the garbage out!

 

[Dahlialover]

(Totally trying to be funny here...)

They can each use their one good hand and work as a team to take the garbage out!

I like the way you think!

 

[Dahlialover]

Boys gymnastics is such a cool community! Yesterday was our region’s first real meet of the season. My son went and rotated with our level 5 team to cheer them on. Then we stayed for the level 6 session, where he should have been competing. Our gym didn’t have any gymnasts in that session, but my son has a bunch of friends on another team, so he rotated with them, staying with them but just behind rope. He even joined their team on the floor for awards as an unofficial part of the team. Their coach has trained my son at camps, so he was happy to include him.

I am so glad we went and stayed for his session. He loves meets and catching up with his gym friends from all over (I also love to see my gym-parent friends from all over). I think seeing his friends/competitors doing well was really inspiring to him. It’s easy for him to get complacent at our gym but I think this will put some fire back in him.

It’s a bummer that he couldn’t compete but it was still a really good day. Everyone was so happy to see us! People I didn’t even know came to ask about my son, and told me that they would be praying for his wrists to heal quickly (and they meant it)! Boys gymnastics is a really wonderful community and I’m glad to be part of it.

 

[Coach Kate]

Boys gymnastics is such a cool community! Yesterday was our region’s first real meet of the season. My son went and rotated with our level 5 team to cheer them on. Then we stayed for the level 6 session, where he should have been competing. Our gym didn’t have any gymnasts in that session, but my son has a bunch of friends on another team, so he rotated with them, staying with them but just behind rope. He even joined their team on the floor for awards as an unofficial part of the team. Their coach has trained my son at camps, so he was happy to include him.

I am so glad we went and stayed for his session. He loves meets and catching up with his gym friends from all over (I also love to see my gym-parent friends from all over). I think seeing his friends/competitors doing well was really inspiring to him. It’s easy for him to get complacent at our gym but I think this will put some fire back in him.

It’s a bummer that he couldn’t compete but it was still a really good day. Everyone was so happy to see us! People I didn’t even know came to ask about my son, and told me that they would be praying for his wrists to heal quickly (and they meant it)! Boys gymnastics is a really wonderful community and I’m glad to be part of it.

I'm so glad you all felt loved and supported.

 

[HeidiK]

I think this is a really interesting topic. My son was a level 5 state champion at one gym. He was 9 years old doing 20 hours a week. His heels hurt, his shoulders hurt, his wrists hurt and his knees hurt. The coach just kept pushing him because he was strong and winning. Their in house Pt kept telling us he was fine and to ice and take Advil. My son was miserable and wanted to quit. We tried another gym and my son fell in love with gymnastics again. As a parent, it’s fun to watch your kid win.

We’ve been at a new gym for 2 years and it’s very, very different. The coach’s goal is to have my son make it to level 10 without burnout and injuries. He’s a level 8 now. He hasn’t been allowed to train doubles unless he’s landing in a pit because the coach says it’s too much strain on a 12 yo boy’s hips and knees. Many boys do doubles as a level 8. He does 14 hours/week. Many boys his age do 20. His coach is very serious about keeping him healthy and not burning him out. All of his pain is completely gone (besides sore muscles after practice sometimes).

The result of this kind of training is he doesn’t win everything like he used to. That’s an adjustment for my son. His coach says meets don’t matter and the goal is to make to progress and make it to level 10 healthy and still loving the sport. The coach says he’ll be amazing after he goes through puberty. It’s an adjustment to watch him at meets not throwing things I know he can do and taking lower scores because of lower difficulty. We were at a meet last night and one team was very good. Every single boy was taped or braced on multiple joints. They were limping. One boy even injured his knee in vault warm-up, got taped up and continued on with his swollen knee pushing through the tape.

Obviously there are very different coaching styles out there. Kids bodies are different. Kids minds work differently.

 

[Coach Kate]

I think this is a really interesting topic. My son was a level 5 state champion at one gym. He was 9 years old doing 20 hours a week. His heels hurt, his shoulders hurt, his wrists hurt and his knees hurt. The coach just kept pushing him because he was strong and winning. Their in house Pt kept telling us he was fine and to ice and take Advil. My son was miserable and wanted to quit. We tried another gym and my son fell in love with gymnastics again. As a parent, it’s fun to watch your kid win.

We’ve been at a new gym for 2 years and it’s very, very different. The coach’s goal is to have my son make it to level 10 without burnout and injuries. He’s a level 8 now. He hasn’t been allowed to train doubles unless he’s landing in a pit because the coach says it’s too much strain on a 12 yo boy’s hips and knees. Many boys do doubles as a level 8. He does 14 hours/week. Many boys his age do 20. His coach is very serious about keeping him healthy and not burning him out. All of his pain is completely gone (besides sore muscles after practice sometimes).

The result of this kind of training is he doesn’t win everything like he used to. That’s an adjustment for my son. His coach says meets don’t matter and the goal is to make to progress and make it to level 10 healthy and still loving the sport. The coach says he’ll be amazing after he goes through puberty. It’s an adjustment to watch him at meets not throwing things I know he can do and taking lower scores because of lower difficulty. We were at a meet last night and one team was very good. Every single boy was taped or braced on multiple joints. They were limping. One boy even injured his knee in vault warm-up, got taped up and continued on with his swollen knee pushing through the tape.

Obviously there are very different coaching styles out there. Kids bodies are different. Kids minds work differently.

It's wonderful to hear that your son has found a way to stay in the sport, hopefully for a long time.