WAG About what age do vestibular issues start cropping up?

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cbifoja

Proud Parent
My DD's coach was talking to me tonight about her frustration with my DD losing her connection on her beam series. It was a pleasant enough conversation with no ready solution of course. On the car ride home, DD asked me if HC and I were talking as friends or as "gymnastics people" so I was honest with her and told her what HC had said.

DD mentioned a couple of things. The first was an incidence about a month ago when a rec kid ran in between the beams right when DD started her BHS. DD bailed on it and took a bit of a nasty fall where she cracked her head on the beam. Not bad enough to bleed or even make a bump...just hurt some and scared her a lot.

The other thing she said is that when she comes out of her first acro, she "just can't make her body go backwards" into the BHS. My first thought, in my imaginary Dunno voice, was "it's vestibular." (And yes, in my head Dunno sounds all Morgan Freeman/God-like.) But she's only 10, hasn't had a recent growing spurt, and isn't showing any signs of puberty. I guess I always associated vestibular issues with those three things. Am I wrong? Could my DD be having vestibular issues or is she too young?
 
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I wish I knew those answers too. I have often wondered if my DD, who seems to have vestibular issues, is too old. She is 13, and has been through puberty for almost two years, and has already had her huge growth spurt. Where is a clear cut chart for us parents? Ha ha.
 
It can happen at any age, 8, 10, whatever. It is especially common when they hit a growth spurt around 11-14 but could happen any time. I have had it happen to 7 and 8 year olds.
 
My DD's coach was talking to me tonight about her frustration with my DD losing her connection on her beam series. It was a pleasant enough conversation with no ready solution of course. On the car ride home, DD asked me if HC and I were talking as friends or as "gymnastics people" so I was honest with her and told her what HC had said.

DD mentioned a couple of things. The first was an incidence about a month ago when a rec kid ran in between the beams right when DD started her BHS. DD bailed on it and took a bit of a nasty fall where she cracked her head on the beam. Not bad enough to bleed or even make a bump...just hurt some and scared her a lot.

The other thing she said is that when she comes out of her first acro, she "just can't make her body go backwards" into the BHS. My first thought, in my imaginary Dunno voice, was "it's vestibular." (And yes, in my head Dunno sounds all Morgan Freeman/God-like.) But she's only 10, hasn't had a recent growing spurt, and isn't showing any signs of puberty. I guess I always associated vestibular issues with those three things. Am I wrong? Could my DD be having vestibular issues or is she too young?
Sorry...I have no answer, but I'm cracking up about dunno/Morgan Freeman/God! LOL! Good luck :)
 
So vestibular issues are always accompanied with a growth spurt? For me, that would mean that what my DD is experience isn't vestibular. She had a growth spurt over the summer but that was several months ago.
 
Not always connected to a growth spurt, no. The "I can't go" is really what it's all about -- they know they can do the skill, they've done the skill, the skill isn't hard to them, and then one day, they just cannot make themselves do it. My DD described it as fear, but she seemed to be suggesting that "fear" didn't quite capture what she was experiencing.

I hope your DD works through this quickly but summon all of your patience and detachment in case it doesn't. You'll have looked at a lot of old threads by now, but what you hear over and over again is true: if the coaches don't push too hard and if the parents don't freak out, it will pass in time for almost all of them if they just have the courage to wait it out. Go find Gracy's recent post on the subject. Excellent advice there.
 
My dd went through a fear issue with her BWO last summer. She was doing it fine no problem then all of a sudden just couldn't or wouldn't. Of course I've seen her do it and I'm thinking to myself just do it you know how to do it what's going on? She told me sometimes I just can't make my body do it, it just won't go backwards. We did two private lessons over two weeks focused solely on this issue with one of the most patient coaches in our gym. She took her back to basics starting on the line on the floor low beam, slightly higher beam etc. next she piled up mats all the way up on the highbeam and gradually took one mat away at a time each time she felt more comfortable. She got there and continued to progress in practice after that to the point that it was no longer an issue.

Other more experienced moms have told me that sometimes when a kid gets a growth spurt their body gets all out of whack and it doesn't feel like it used to feel and that makes them fearful. They just have to get used to doing that skill all over again and adjusting. Not sure if that's what you mean by vestibular or not.
 
Maybe vestibular but could be fear instead as she *lost* her connection soon after the humpty dumpty head bump. It really doesn't matter how/why as the solution is patience and hard work on what they *can do* because having her butt her head against the problem is going to result in failure.

A control freak's, as I sometimes can be, nightmare.....

.... The "I can't go" is really what it's all about -- they know they can do the skill, they've done the skill, the skill isn't hard to them, and then one day.....
.......it will pass in time for almost all of them if they just have the courage to wait it out. Go find Gracy's recent post on the subject. Excellent advice there.

.... We did two private lessons over two weeks focused solely on this issue with one of the most patient coaches in our gym. She took her back to basics......

Smart coach^^^^
 
My dd went through the same thing starting around the same age. She is 12 and it still rears its ugly head from time to time. She explained it the same way. She said she just couldn't "bring herself" to do it. Sometimes she would fight through it and make herself do it, and then she would be so relieved and would say that she didn't know what she was so afraid of, that it was easy. Other times she wouldn't be able to make herself do it and she would come home upset and frustrated with herself. As a parent, it was heartbreaking to witness.

Luckily, (knocking on wood) it was quite short-lived. She worked through it and is now fine. BUT whenever she gets a new backwards skill on beam, it seems to crop up again slightly. My best advice, as many of the coaches have said about it, is to not make a big deal about it at all. I didn't even talk about it to DD. I would ask how was practice, and she would or wouldn't elaborate depending on the day but I said nothing. This situation puts a LOT of pressure on them to have this new unexplained fear, and if they feel like it matters at all to you, even if you are handling it with positivity, they will put more pressure on themselves. This is especially true with a type A personality like my DD (and many other gymnasts). This is just what I have learned from our situation. :)

When this happened with my DD, she did not have any sort of growth spurt either, but she is very tiny and in general does not grow large amounts at a time. I think that before you start to see signs of puberty, there are things going on inside that we cannot see as the body changes and prepares for growth.

Don't worry! Your DD will get through this. There is light at the end of the tunnel! :)
 
Everyone should just be aware that, while sometimes a few weeks of going back to the beginning and rebuilding the skill patiently will resolve the issue, sometimes it doesn't. It has its own time frame, and it can't be rushed. I think from what I've observed that the best strategy is for the gymnast just to keep doing the backwards skill wherever s/he can and have success (low beam, tumbl trak, floor with a spot, etc.), with consistent but minimal attempts to move forward to see if the issue is resolving.
 
I think it's an inner development thing... Like your inner ear changing/developing? Dunno can correct me in his God voice if I'm wrong.

yes, that could be a reason. scar tissue in the ear from to many ear infections. undiagnosed vertigo, etc;
 
I would think that these kinds of issues also happen to Elite level gymnasts, but I don't know that I've ever heard of Gymnast X having found success in the Elite ranks and then all of a sudden being afraid to back tumble. Why is that? I would think the more difficult skills would be more difficult to make yourself through when an athlete goes through this?

I can't say I dealt with the fear part as an athlete, but I gained some weight my senior year of high school (maybe 10 lbs without growing any taller) and it seriously did wreck my back tumbling. When I twisted, I couldn't gauge how hard to pull and did twisting skills overrated to my back. It was incredibly frustrating so I understand what the kids are going through.
 
I would think that these kinds of issues also happen to Elite level gymnasts, but I don't know that I've ever heard of Gymnast X having found success in the Elite ranks and then all of a sudden being afraid to back tumble. Why is that? I would think the more difficult skills would be more difficult to make yourself through when an athlete goes through this?

I can't say I dealt with the fear part as an athlete, but I gained some weight my senior year of high school (maybe 10 lbs without growing any taller) and it seriously did wreck my back tumbling. When I twisted, I couldn't gauge how hard to pull and did twisting skills overrated to my back. It was incredibly frustrating so I understand what the kids are going through.

Yes, happens. They would usually drop back to 10. Of course everyone has a different vestibular system and you would expect in general someone who reaches the elite level to be less affected. They probably weren't afraid to learn a round off back handspring for example. I personally know of gymnasts who were elite and then had issues with losing back tumbling, though.
 
It may also have to do with how you grow. From my, albeit limited, observations, the girls on the Elite track tend to grow more slowly than their peers. So there isn't a huge or even a large growth spurt for at least some of these girls that would cause their bodies to have to adapt quickly.
 
I grew steadily until I was 10, then stopped. I never had any problems in dance because it was so gradual that I must have just adjusted as I was learning.

Then I had a small-but-noticeable growth spurt as an adult and it completely threw my balance and spacial awareness for a while, both in dance and gymnastics! I also lost a fair amount of weight getting back into dance and that added to the trouble. I'm still adjusting. I fall over a lot ;)
 
I would think that these kinds of issues also happen to Elite level gymnasts, but I don't know that I've ever heard of Gymnast X having found success in the Elite ranks and then all of a sudden being afraid to back tumble. Why is that? I would think the more difficult skills would be more difficult to make yourself through when an athlete goes through this?

I can't say I dealt with the fear part as an athlete, but I gained some weight my senior year of high school (maybe 10 lbs without growing any taller) and it seriously did wreck my back tumbling. When I twisted, I couldn't gauge how hard to pull and did twisting skills overrated to my back. It was incredibly frustrating so I understand what the kids are going through.

yes, it has even happened to Elite gymnasts. no need for me to go in to any names.
 

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