Young Level 5

[littlegymchampsmom]

I definately wanted chiro experiences, thanks for sharing... I really feel similar about chiropractors... I am sure some are great and work for some, but my dad took me when I was a kid and I HATED it! of course I know that things have changed a great deal since then...

The girl I was referring to interested me because she is 15 and took rec classes for years - about 7 .... then switched over to comp gym a year ago. Only one year of comp. gymnastics and she is in so much pain?? Her mom says it was learning so many new skills too fast, but it made me wonder if (and gym law mom confirmed) that all children are different. Some get through with little to no problems and some are plagued with injuries... I hate to think what their chiro bill is going 2 x's a week, but I saw her at practice tonight and she left early crying because she still hurt so bad... it does not seem to be helping, I am sure they know how to handle their situation though... I just feel bad for her, because she loves gymnastics so much. I know that gymnasts do it, but I (having a low tolerance for pain) could not... I have a ton of respect for gymnasts!

[Megley]

Quote:
Right now we still only spend about 20 minutes 4 times a week on power stuff (when I say power it is certainly not a great deal of difficulty - only ro's, rh bhs's, dive roll & f hs's.) and our team has grown so there is a lot of standing between... the rest of the floor is flex, strength and conditioning.... when they produced "the list" with the girls moving up that showed the 15 hour schedule I was relieved and worried all the same - originally I thought they may go drastic like their original 27 hour a week schedule which I knew we could no way take part in, I really hoped they would do no more then a 12 hour week... but, well I figure if we need to miss during the week we just will. I think it will be a little more, still some waiting around and more dance elements though, not too much to worry about, but I will monitor... when do you guys start your new schedule??

That doesn't sound like too much just yet. I think optionals - maybe Level 6 to some extent - is where the serious tumbling starts. Because L is doing Level 4, we aren't doing dive rolls yet - just RO/BHS. L has taught herself a FHS but they aren't doing them because it isn't in the Level 4 routine. We start our summer schedule at the end of June after school lets out. It's 3 days x 4 hours and from what I understand there's a lot of strength training along with the work on routines.

Chiming in on the chiropractor issue, I tend to agree that it's a waste of money for "adjustment" purposes. I've seen one but only because he also performed ART (Active Release Technique), which is a method of treating soft tissue injuries commonly suffered by runners (like piriformis syndrome and plantar fasciitis). I wouldn't send my kids there. I think that the best thing to do is monitor your DD and make sure she isn't complaining of any pain. If she is, then you may need to see an orthopoedist to make sure that nothing is wrong. It sounds like they are currently not doing too much power tumbling so you don't have to worry too much yet. Our Level 5s do 16 hours a week so that sounds right in line with what your gym is proposing. One of them is quite young - turned 6 in February - and seems to be handling the hours well so I'm sure your DD will be fine. And as you mention, you may miss some practices for other family events. I know we will miss an entire week when we are on vacation. I think it's good for the kids to get a break every now and then.

Meg

[littlegymchampsmom]

Meg,

a will start her new schedule 2nd week of june... they will go 3 hours per day for 5 days. I think 3 hours will be perfect for her - not too much. I went back and read other posts about hours in the gym, and it does seem pretty comparable to other gyms. There was a time when I could not imagine why they need so much time in the gym, but as I go along I get it more and more. Now that we have added more girls to practice a lot more time is eaten up, especially if anyone needs a spot for their bad leg or just trying to focus on tightness, or whatever. We run out of time now and the girls come in a half hour before class and still stay after a few minutes as well. We completely stopped vault because time is gone.... so with more hours everything should be able to fit. + actually learning the routines and putting it all together. They can't all do it at the same time so there goes more time... the more I think about it the better I feel, less I am worried.

[dazed]

I hadn't really given much thought to what gymnastics can do to a child's body. Even if a child shows no problems while young, or suffers no major injuries, will they be a broken wreck when they reach thier 30's or younger?! Not that I'm thinking of pulling my dd out of this wonderful sport mind you.

[rbw]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dazed I hadn't really given much thought to what gymnastics can do to a child's body. Even if a child shows no problems while young, or suffers no major injuries, will they be a broken wreck when they reach thier 30's or younger?!

Cross-sectional studies have repeatedly demonstrated that the majority of even mid-level (i.e., club) gymnasts develop overuse injuries, but most such injuries may can heal if the gymnast takes off sufficient time from the sport. Long term effects are unclear, since the majority of kids who would be identified as gymnasts in such studies are those who have remained healthy enough to stay in the sport; most of those who left due to injury wouldn't be available for studies of gymnasts.

[littlegymchampsmom]

Quote:
Originally Posted by dazed I hadn't really given much thought to what gymnastics can do to a child's body. Even if a child shows no problems while young, or suffers no major injuries, will they be a broken wreck when they reach thier 30's or younger?! Not that I'm thinking of pulling my dd out of this wonderful sport mind you.

Dazed, there are problems in every sport, not just gymnastics... I personally think that gymnastics is a beautiful & healthy sport that can continue with a child long after they stop... let your dd be your guide and as long as she is the one that wants this and continues to be happy and ultimately enjoys what she is doing then all is well

[gym law mom]

Yes, I agree LGCM---all sports have their problems and we as parents are the only advocates our kids have. The same orthopedic surgeon that gave the tips on keeping a growth chart etc. also said she is seeing boys coming in at age 11 or 12 with serious rotator cuff and elbow injuries from trying to throw baseballs at a speed that is more realistic for a 15 yo.

The cumulative injuries are certianly the most difficult to monitor and usually you as a parent have no idea there is a problem until your child is having alot of discomfort---and it doesn't go away. Of course, most of these girls are ultra competitive and will keep practicing even though they hurt. They don't want to say anything to mom/dad because we may make them sit out a few practices and see a doctor.

I've found that just dropping in on practice is a way to see if there is any physical problem. Is the child limping or walking around with an ice pack on their wrist? Do they complain about skills they are struggling with and could do with no problem a few weeks before? Does the coach say, "she seems to be holding back/not working as hard as usual?" These can all be little tips that something is hurting and you may have to play 20 questions to figure it out, but its in your child's best interest to take the time. Be vigilant no matter what level your child is at-----then they can get the most out of the sport feeling healthy. Its tough---there is a fine line between being overprotective and "push through the pain."

[rbw]

omg,

It may be that the parents of most new gymnasts don’t appreciate the prevalence of injuries in the sport. Some few—like littlegymchampsmom, who inquired regarding the best way to help her daughter with the injuries that she expects her to accrue—clearly understand some of the risks, but I suspect that the majority of starry-eyed parents may not have heard that, say, gymnastics has one of the highest injury rates among NCAA sports, that spinal injuries are a serious problem among girls who remain healthy enough to advance to higher levels in the sport, or that medical studies indicate that at any given time half of female team-level gymnasts suffer from wrist pain (and that most of these girls suffer for long periods—although they may not tell their coaches or their parents).

It may not matter all that much: USA Gymnastics data suggest that half of the girls who begin to compete are gone before Level 6, perhaps before they can endure too many injuries. However, it doesn’t seem at all clear why so many girls leave so early. The exodus from the sport may be ascribed to the development of “other interests”, but I wonder if some or much of that attrition is injury related: For example, studies show that , as I indicated, half of the girls have wrist pain, and that girls who have painful wrists can’t train as effectively as their uninjured teammates; the combination of painful workouts plus slow advancement compared to her peers might, I think, make those “other interests” seem relatively more attractive to an adolescent gymnast. Surprisingly, though, nobody seems to keep track of why girls really leave the sport, of their health at the time they exit, or of the long term effects of their training. It’s equally surprising that parents of young gymnasts don’t demand that information before committing their dear daughters to long training hours at a young age.

All we have, then, are snapshots. You might be interested in the December 2004 articles in the Orange County Register, for which about half of the roughly 300 members of the 1984-2004 Junior and Senior women’s national teams were interviewed. It’s painful reading: Almost all (93%) of the women who were interviewed reported breaking bones or requiring surgery for their gymnastics injuries, and three-fourths of those women continued to experience health problems related to gymnastics. Other medical studies suggest the risks related to gymnastics: for example, 12 of the 19 gymnasts invited to a recent national training camp had spinal problems such as degenerative disk disease. Oops.

The present situation is bad. The parents of most young gymnasts are either unaware of this or blithley accept it.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Do you have links to these studies? I'd like to read them.

[rbw]

Geoffrey,

References for the statements in my earlier post include:

Bennett DL, Nassar L, DeLano MC. Lumbar spine MRI in the elite-level female gymnast with low back pain. Skeletal Radiol. 2006 Jul;35(7):503-9.

Caine D, DiFiori J, Maffulli N. Physeal injuries in children's and youth sports: reasons for concern?
Br J Sports Med. 2006 Sep;40(9):749-60.

DiFiori JP. Overuse injury and the young athlete: the case of chronic wrist pain in gymnasts. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2006 Jun;5(4):165-7

DiFiori JP, Caine DJ, Malina RM. Wrist pain, distal radial physeal injury, and ulnar variance in the young gymnast. Am J Sports Med. 2006 May;34(5):840-9

DiFiori JP, Puffer JC, Aish B, Dorey F. Wrist pain in young gymnasts: frequency and effects upon training over 1 year. Clin J Sport Med. 2002 Nov;12(6):348-53

The infamous Orange County Register article can be found here: http://www.ocregister.com/investigat...04/gymnastics/

E-mail me if you don't have access to a medical library; I can provide you with some more information.