WAG Seeing is Believing

[nyc gym mom]

Video is attached to make this long description bearable

My gymnast has been working on back walkovers on beam for well over a year plus probably longer. In the last few months more frequently as she just moved up to level 5 after completing early states. Other girls in the gym easily nailing them that were at lower levels and skills. My girl could nail a perfect fall every time! On the floor they were perfect. Every coach / gymnast in the gym had tried to help her.

Finally one of her coaches evaluated her pretty much from head to toe as she said there was nothing that she could see with form as to why she could not stick them. After her assessment she pointed out that one arm appeared longer than the other by about 3 inches when extended back over her head. I was getting ready to set up an appointment with a sports medicine doc.

I asked a mom that is an OT and now doing performance enhancement with athletes her thoughts. She said let me look at her when at practice. She watched her on balance beam, then evaluated her standing with arms extended in various positions. She then began doing a specific time of therapy / manipulation on her. In less than an hour she was doing them
Beautifully. It was her hips that were out of alignment / she was too tight on one side and thus physically her body made her go to the same side off the beam each time. I am still in disbelief. She wants to work with her one more time as when the therapist mom evaluated the video she saw she was not quite going back as straight as she could.

Go figure? I am now a believer in this treatment!

 

[my4buffaloes]

Wow, so nice to have an answer and an easy fix. That had to be very frustrating.

 

[flippingtogether]

Wow. Love this story - and a lesson you never know quite what the problem is and you need to be very open to different ideas and insight.

 

[coachmolly]

That's amazing! I coach a girl who has major problems with her bwo on beam and also seems to throw one hip out on leaps/jumps- perhaps it's some kind of alignment issue? I'll definitely be looking at her bwo more carefully!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

are you saying/suggesting that this treatment corrected her hand placement of the right hand?

 

[nyc gym mom]

are you saying/suggesting that this treatment corrected her hand placement of the right hand?

It was not the hand placement that was the initial problem. She literally was too tight from her hip... she constantly went off the beam to the left.

 

[nyc gym mom]

That's amazing! I coach a girl who has major problems with her bwo on beam and also seems to throw one hip out on leaps/jumps- perhaps it's some kind of alignment issue? I'll definitely be looking at her bwo more carefully!

Coach Molly
Feel free to message me off line... (Not sure how that works). I could get you the specifics. The kinseologist / athlete trainer is going to be working with a few more of our girls. From my understanding it is based on "Body being in balance"

 

[Deleted member D3987]

okay, i'll see if i got this straight. the "before" video shows both her hands turned sideways, like a cartwheel hand placement, and she falls off.

the "after" video shows her hand placement (as what i consider) technically perfect, and she stays on the beam.

so, i'll ask you again and a bit differently. do you think the change in her hand placement is what corrected the back walk over? or do you think whatever "adjustment" was made to her hip is what corrected the hand placement?

i bring this up because i don't want anyone to be misguided in their attempts at correcting hand placements for back walk overs being found in adjustments to/of either hip.

simply, this girl corrected her hand placement. this correction has nothing whatsoever to do with having either hip adjusted.

 

[nyc gym mom]

Ok.. Dunno
Your last paragraph is not a question but seems like a statement that my reporting of the events is inaccurate. According to you her hands were corrected and that solved the issue. I understand your concern that you don't want others chasing hip adjustments instead of proper hand placement.. However.. If you knew the history as I alluded to in the first post- you might not be so skeptical of outside issues that can impact doing skills.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

"My gymnast has been working on back walkovers on beam for well over a year plus probably longer."

"On the floor they were perfect."

i am a coach. i am aware of "outside forces that can impact skills". it is your 2 quotes that tell the story of a back walk over. it does take, more often than not, well over a year for a gymnast to learn a back walk over on balance beam.

many gymnasts are afraid of hitting their head/face or missing their hands when they put their hands down. your daughter placing them down such that she did is consistent with how many gymnasts place their hands when they are afraid. the cartwheel hand placement is familiar to them. and they turn at the hip/waist so that they can see the beam top sooner. it's very normal.

these same kids have perfect back walk overs on floor. in fact, if you ask them to place their hands on a floor line, as your daughter first did, they are not able. in fact, they look at us as "crazy" for even having asked them to do it that way. often we will ask them to do it incorrectly because doing it wrong often leads to them doing it right once they realize what they are doing.

the hip adjustment is anecdotal in this case. i'm not skeptical at all. i mean you no disrespect. i am simply pointing out what i see and reading what you wrote.

 

[nyc gym mom]

... Thanks dunno for the reply.. Love how you described the scenario and how back walkovers typically occur. That's why I called it seeing is believing. I def. thought her issue was fear prior. I am just a parent and poorly articulate the ins and outs and mainly pay the fee and cheer her on! It was her coaches careful analysis that brought us to the part of her being looked at. When the OT looked at her.. You could see where just slightly one hip jutted out. It was a muscle tightness issue.. When she was going back the tightness forced her to one side, the hands would get placed incorrectly, etc and thus the landing of a fall. Of course as a coach or kineslogist I am probably terribly describing the events.

Just happy to see her smile now as she sticks them!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and there was this: "Finally one of her coaches evaluated her pretty much from head to toe as she said there was nothing that she could see with form as to why she could not stick them. After her assessment she pointed out that one arm appeared longer than the other by about 3 inches when extended back over her head."

one arm appearing longer than the other, in this case her right arm, is an illusion and a result of 'reaching' further with her dominant right hand to support her body weight.

if you place close attention, you can see that she slightly turns to the left to reach back. this is because her right leg is forward. when the right leg is forward, the athlete is not able to turn to the right when they are on their right foot.

so then, as they turn to the left, the left hand is closest to the beam top. but your daughter is is right hand dominant. therefore, she must reach further with her right hand because it is furthest of her two hands to reach the beam.

i'll make an educated gues that your daughter does a left cartwheel or left hand down first cartwheel. this is consistent with her hand placement on the incorrect hand placement of her back walk over.

incidentally, performing it incorrectly as is shown WILL strengthen/tighten the right hip flexor and quad muscle of the leg. this weakens the left side. i'm surprised that she did not injure her left hip or groin in the process of doing them incorrectly.

i'm happy as you are for your daughter. sometimes these things take forever to straighten out. gymnastics, no matter the skill, is HARD. always has been...always will be.

 

[nyc gym mom]

It is an amazing sport. Dunno I just asked my daughter left or right kartwheel. She said right. I said do you land on your right or left hand first..she said right.

Love your info still but sticking with in my daughters case how the OT helped. Too bad you weren't there to see it with your own eyes. Thanks again for the education.. I find all these details fascinating and beyond my scope!