MAG Wrist pain, or the cool thing

[momto2js]

DS is 9 and a level 6. Last night he left the gym complaining about his wrists. His words were "I think I need Tiger Paws." I asked when it hurt and he said floor. They are working hard on floor basics, LOTS of BHS and handstands. He is also doing 100's of circles and an lot more PBar work too. All I think could cause his wrists to hurt.

So the question is, should I get him something for floor? I'm really think he will find what ever it is hot and miserable and be done with it, but he rarely complains, so perhaps it is an issue? I sure wish these kids came with owners manuals!!

 

[profmom]

Skidz. (They are sold individually, so buy two.) Rice bucket. Other wrist strengthening exercises. If the pain doesn't go away after a few days of laying off, if it becomes severe, or if there is clear point tenderness/heat on the bone, get him seen by a good orthopedist who knows gymnasts and gymnastics.

 

[samsmama]

DS has Skidz for wrist support. He went through a wrist pain period when he really started ramping up BHS and circles. I think it was just an adjustment while his wrists got stronger. He rarely wears the Skidz now, but will pull them out for circle contests or long floor practices. He tried Tiger Paws and hated how they felt on his hands.

 

[Tigtimes]

Be proactive when it comes to wrist pain. Search growth plate issues here and you will learn more. Ice, ice, ice after practice. Wrist supports are not hot, mine only uses one tiger paw. Seriously if he is complaining treat it now before there is a bigger issue that can take him out for weeks.

 

[profmom]

The problem with Tiger Paws is that you can't use them on horse, and that's almost certainly a contributing factor. But do what works for him.

Oh! Forgot! Our coach put us onto contrast treatment. You alternate hot and cold packs on the sore wrist three times. Knock wood, but we do this after every practice he has pommel horse or if it's at all sore, and the aggressive combination of things has meant for him that he's been pretty much OK since last fall -- after taking about six weeks off last summer and a few weeks in the fall because of concern about stress reactions.

Agreed with Tagsmom2 -- don't mess around with this.

 

[buttercup]

Strengthen the wrists, and support them! Wrists were not designed for the impact gymnasts put them through. My DS has both skids and tigerpaws. He personally finds the tiger paws more supportive then the skids, but decides which one to wear based on the day and the event. He can't use the tiger paws on P-bars or handles on horse, but has used them flat horse, and of course for floor and vault. He actually competed 2 full season in tiger paws on horse and did very well - pommel is his favorite event! His wrist problems didn't start with gymnastics (He's broken his left wrist twice, neither time in the gym) but this sport hasn't helped either. Deal with wrist pain seriously from the start!

 

[skschlag]

D has skidz but only wears them when he feels the need. Almost always on pommel, occasionally on floor, vault, and pbars. He has had off and on wrist pain since about level 6, like your ds. I would see a doc too....they will almost always tell you to take a few days off. And rice buckets, contrasting hot/cold, and strengthening exercises..as stated above.

 

[karenity]

Just echoing what at least 3 other posters said. Take wrist pain seriously, as it can become career ending if not properly managed. Good time to teach your son that constant pain is not okay. Work with coaches proactively to manage. We have had two boys had to quit gymnastics team permanently due to wrist growth plate issues over the last 5 years. Both at around the age of 13/14.

My son went through his huge growth spurt this last year (all my boys grow early). His issue is his elbow, started this season - he has been going to PT, not working it too hard, then took a month off of 100% rest after end of season. He went back and did one workout and still had elbow pain, so physical therapist referred him to the orthopedist and recommended an X-ray & MRI (actually she recommended this before he went back and did the one normal workout).

Scans luckily showed no loose bodies in his elbow or fracture, but it did show chronic inflammation. It is called Little Leaguer's Elbow. No elbow brace will cure this. He is on 100% rest of his arm for 2-3 months until pain is gone. At least no surgery is required, and this will heal with rest. Most likely high bar is the event that caused this. The repetitive motion and torque of the force when they go around the bar is a lot for growing bones/joints.

For the next 2-3 months he will only do conditioning (approved by physical therapist to not aggravate elbow), flexibility, trampoline, and working front tumbling from rebounds into foam pit (no round offs/bhs/etc.) He will go to gym for 1/2 the workout only, but the same number of days. No reason to stand around and watch what he cannot do.

Be observant about your child. My son isn't a complainer even when he should have. I first noticed him rubbing his elbow at a meet. He didn't tell me about it. I let him try to take it easy to see if it would go away for a month or so before we took him to the doctor.

You can use any pain to have a discussion with your child about what pain is okay and what needs to be addressed. This was something I never learned until later in life, good for them to learn how to listen to their bodies now.

There is a time to work hard and a time to rest & heal, so you can work harder later.

Oh, silver lining is from the MRI they said it looks like he is almost done growing which is good news! So once his bones catch up (making sure he gets calcium and vitamin D for this) he is through most of the major growing.

 

[Madden3]

When I first started lurking on CB it was because older DS had wrist pain. I became alarmed when HC, who in the past had not been a fan of wrist supports, especially for lower levels, told my son maybe he did need them.

I followed some link I found somewhere (here?) cannot remember - and ended up with an article that talked about "working smart" for wrist pain.

After questioning my son, I discovered a favorite "game" at practice the coaches used was circle competitions on the mushroom. Well my son was, by that time, very good at circles. In fact pommel was his best event at that time. The result, he was doing hundreds of circles a week even through he did not really need to. Form was not stressed, these were quantity competitions.

So I suggested to him that he ask the coach if he could skip or only take limited part in competitions like this, and at practice work on doing fewer circles with good form rather than doing circle after circle.

He also did exercises with the rice bucket but that was short lived.

Result, it has been two years, no return of wrist pain, (yet, he is only 12 so we shall see) and no need for supports.