WAG Straight Body Cast - Huge Arch

[GlobalNomad]

My dd has started arching a lot in her straight body cast. It looks like someone doing the worm or centipede dance, if anyone can remember that one. She says her back hurts. She says she's "maybe" a little scared to lean over the bar, "maybe" afraid she will fall. She cries after practice. I asked her what her coach says, and she said "don't arch." There's a bit of a language barrier, so that may be the only correction she gets. There's no yelling or abuse going on.

I'm afraid this is going to become a habit. It looks bad, and weird. I don't watch often, but 3 months ago she had a near perfect straight body cast.

Any thoughts on what's going on here? Could a back injury cause arching? More likely, I think arching is causing back muscle soreness.

She competes with FIG scoring. I think the coaches would rather her muscle through the routine and take the deductions in form rather than go down in difficulty and fix the cast to handstand. The routine makes her difficulty score higher than everyone else's. She will likely win the next upcoming major competition, even with huge errors.

I don't like her practicing this funky, body wave, arch up to handstand move she's created. I really don't think she should practice it over and over. She doesn't have a straddle cast and doesn't understand the timing of one. What should I do? Do I say something?

 

[profmom]

Has she been growing? My DD had a lot of trouble casting over the winter due to a growth spurt. I guess the bigger concern is that you sound like you don't have much trust in the coaches. But if the soreness has been persistent, you'd probably better get it checked out. The form issue could also be attributable to trying to work around an injury.

 

[GlobalNomad]

I like her coaches, but I do think the scoring system rewards higher level skills, even if they aren't done well. I hate seeing her crying, frustrated and hurting. It makes me frustrated and hurt. I do also know they have trouble getting her to understand what they are saying to her. It's a language issue, not a competency issue. They literally do not speak the same language most of the time.

She may have had a growth spurt. I didn't think about that.

 

[motigymnasticsmom]

Go ahead and go to Dr. Trust me,my DD is having back issues. Even if xrays are inconclusive, request PT.