Parents Pain in both wrist?

[Gymmom82773]

My daughter is 11 level 9 and she has been complaining about wrist pain in both wrist but the right one is significantly worse . She said certain skills hurt worse such as the urchenko vault and shifting on bars . I'm thinking maybe she is growing ?? She's just getting back from an ankle injury .., I hope this is nothing serious ! I'm keeping her out of the practice tonight. She does wear Wristguards for vault but it's still hurting . Should we go to the drs or give it time ?

 

[my4buffaloes]

I guess it depends on how long she dealt with the pain before telling you about it. If it just started hurting this week, I would wait it out a bit. If she hid it from you for a month I would get her in ASAP.

 

[Amusibus]

i'd get it checked. Scaphoid fracture can cause wrist pain in extension like on that vsult and is much more common in gymnasts. If not treated it can cause permanent loss of extension range of motion in that wrist. I had a gymnast friend who had this, she used to tumble "on the balls of her hands", meaning using finger extension not wrist extension because her wrists could no longer move that way due to this fracture not being discovered until too late. And this was 5 years post-injury, and she still could only bring her wrist back about 20 degrees instead of the normal 90+. Also it is commonly missed on x-rays because it is very hard to see.

 

[iwannacoach]

Good advice and story Amusibus. If the problem isn't as severe as a Scaphoid fracture you still have a problem that deserves serious consideration. My worry is that she's recently returned from an ankle injury and hasn't been able to keep her wrist conditioned for impact work due to the time she had off. So my guess is that she or her coaches are rushing her back to resuming full load workouts that her wrist can't endure.

Next injury or problem???? Wrist tendonitis.

 

[munchkin3]

Please go get it checked. If she is 11 and spending many hours in the gym, you must err on the side of caution. She could be damaging her growth plates little by little.
Also remember that these kids have an amount of pain that is always there.....sometimes they forget how much is too much. If she is complaining, get it looked at...

 

[Deleted member D3987]

x-ray time. have them rule out 'PUV".

 

[tuckfull]

One of DD's teammates (also 11 y.o.) had x-rays yesterday because of wrist pain. Her mom said the dx was "gymnast wrist" and forwarded this article to us:

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/05/gymnast-wrist-time-to-give-it-a-rest/

 

[Amusibus]

I believe what Dunno is referring to in the post above as "PUV" is positive ulnar variance, which basically means the ulna kind of sticks up more than the radius - the two long bones of the wrist are supposed to be even with each other. You can be born with it or aquire it. For most it is no problem but for gymnasts it can cause the nearby bones to get smushed/collapse. Here is some info about it:

Wrist pain, distal radial physeal injury, and ulnar variance in young gymnasts: does a relationship exist?

AuthorsDiFiori JP, et al. Show all Journal Am J Sports Med. 2002 Nov-Dec;30(6):879-85. Affiliation

Abstract BACKGROUND: Chronic wrist pain affects up to 79% of young gymnasts. Distal radial growth plate injury and positive ulnar variance have also been reported in this population. HYPOTHESIS: There is a relationship between wrist pain, radiographic findings of distal radial growth plate injury, and ulnar variance in skeletally immature young gymnasts. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: Fifty-nine gymnasts (28 girls and 31 boys; average age, 9.3 years) completed a questionnaire detailing training and wrist pain symptoms. Each received a wrist examination, grip strength measurement, and bilateral wrist radiographs. RESULTS: Wrist pain was reported by 56% of the gymnasts (33 of 59), with 45% (15 of 33) describing pain of at least 6 months' duration. Factors significantly associated with wrist pain included higher skill level, older age, and more years of training. For those between 10 and 14 years of age, 83% had wrist pain, compared with 44% for those outside of that age range. Fifty-one percent of the gymnasts (30 of 59) had findings of stress injury to the distal radial physis of at least a grade 2; 7% (4) had frank widening of the growth plate. Wrist pain prevalence was significantly related to the grade of radiographic injury. Mean ulnar variance was significantly more positive than established norms. Ulnar variance was not associated with wrist pain or radiographic injury of the distal radial physis. CONCLUSIONS: Radiographic findings of distal radial physeal injury are associated with wrist pain among young nonelite gymnasts.