WAG Coming back from injury

[mOm2gymnast<3]

My dd injured her arm and is now finally out of cast (cast for 4 weeks) since yesterday. She has a competition coming up in two weeks. Do you think 2 weeks is enough to get her back on track? She's lv3 and practices 9 hours/week. I'm just curious, I don't want to set her up for failure. As a parent, I want her to compete and feel successful on what she does. I guess I'm worried about her self esteem after injury.

 

[IreneKa]

A girls on DD's team dislocated her elbow in the middle of the season last year. She was out for 6 weeks. At her first meet back she was able to compete vault, beam, and floor (minus ROBHS). My own DD is just coming out of a back injury. Her first meet is in 3 weeks, and she still doesn't have her ROBHS back, and her vault is still row. But we are still planning to attend the meet. The worst case scenario, she will have to scratch floor and vault.
So, if your gym allows scratching some events, I'd say go for it. Even if she doesn't do very well, she'll know it's mostly due to her injury, so I don't think it's going to hurt her self esteem.

 

[Midwestmommy]

That is a question you should be asking her orthopedic doctor. With that said, 4 weeks in a cast (immobile) causes muscle atrophy. Usually kids are supposed to build back their strength first after coming out of a cast before they starting tumbling. No way would I rush this for a Level 3 gymnast, or anybody for that matter. What instructions were you given by the doctor? It's not really about a success or failure at the competition, it's about risk of reinjury. It's even more time if the elbow had decreased mobility due to the cast.

 

[mOm2gymnast<3]

Dr said she is allowed to go back to her usual activities with no restrictions. Just to take it easy first in a couple days. Other than that, nothing is restricted.

 

[Gymsanity]

You said that she 'injured' her arm. That doesn't really say too much about the injury, so it is hard to know. Coming from someone who has broken his arms and wrists on several occasions, I would definitely not get my hopes up. Getting my casts off was just the start, it took a long time for the pain and atrophy to subside. Hopefully, she had a lesser injury and will be able to compete. If not, remember it's only one meet and a full and safe recovery far out weighs anything else. Good luck to you both.

 

[Granny Smith]

If the doctor says she can resume practice no PT, I'd just go by what the coach says. I would think it is the coach that ultimately makes the decision if the child will compete or not.

 

[mOm2gymnast<3]

Her arm wasn't broken. Dr did X-ray and nothing was broken. But dd was tender so he decided to put her in a cast to avoid further injury incase she rough house, etc... Coz a sling wouldn't last very long knowing her.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

After you get a cast off, two weeks should be spent strengthening the limb. Scratch the meet..... That being said, you have a DR who puts casts on a "tender" arm??????????????????????????????????? STUPID and in the future, you tell him NO.....

 

[Tbrov]

Getting out of the cast just starts recovery, in my opinion. It will take a while to get strength and mobility back. Probably more than 2 weeks, but I would defer to the coaches. I wouldn't worry too much about self esteem. Missing a meet or event due to injury is common and not really related to work ethic or any esteem-based issue. It's not something she has control over.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

My dd injured her arm and is now finally out of cast (cast for 4 weeks) since yesterday. She has a competition coming up in two weeks. Do you think 2 weeks is enough to get her back on track? She's lv3 and practices 9 hours/week. I'm just curious, I don't want to set her up for failure. As a parent, I want her to compete and feel successful on what she does. I guess I'm worried about her self esteem after injury.

what? self esteem?? letting her compete in 2 weeks is setting her up for repeat injury. repeat injury trumps self esteem. that's all.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

everyone...i just finished reading all the above posts. please listen. there is too much of this "was just injured, arm just came out of a cast after XXX amount of time, etc;"

i can tell you after many years of experience, that if you don't pay now (keeping them out) you WILL pay later.

unless it's the Olympic Games, and it's 6 weeks before, and you dislocated your elbow and chipped off a piece, and had to have it removed surgically, and you're tough as nails cause you've been on the National Team 5 years prior, so they took the cast off after 3 weeks and threw caution to the wind, and you were coached by someone that knew what the hell they were doing, and every single minute of every single day of training was being monitored by Medical Personnel because you're going to the Olympics...

then just rest, please. there will be more meets. and then more in college. that's a long time to go.

and my above true story? Shannon Miller and Steve Nunno.

 

[gymjunkie]

My thoughts pretty much echo all of the above:

1) Rehab the arm from the immobilization
2) Start a gradual return to full workouts
3) Scratch the meet
4) Find a new doctor

 

[poodlemomma]

My daughter broke her arm right before starting L3. It was in the spring and she was supposed to join team that summer. I kept her out all summer. I let her run around and play and do her own youthful therapy to strengthen her arm and let the pain heal. I was more worried about her arm hurting while she participated and then she would be even more afraid to try new skills or would end up repeating skills she already had accomplished. She started back in the fall as with the team, but she didn't compete. They took it slow with her. She ended up competing with her team in January and did wonderfully. I think if I would have rushed her back, she probably either would have reinjured it, injured something else out of fear of pain and not doing skills correctly, or just quit out of fear.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Getting out of the cast just starts recovery, in my opinion. It will take a while to get strength and mobility back. Probably more than 2 weeks, but I would defer to the coaches. I wouldn't worry too much about self esteem. Missing a meet or event due to injury is common and not really related to work ethic or any esteem-based issue. It's not something she has control over.

=
Yes, agreed, Our rule is nothing, nadda, zip for first two weeks, while we strengthen and rehab, then it's a case by case, but in all cases we start super slow and ease them back in with basics / trampoline tumbling etc... . Obviously no tumbling on a hard surface for several more weeks or months, depending on injury and mobility (I just started doing pushups last week after having surgery in may.....so....) .
In the case of the op's DD, the actual injury was minor (no breaks, or torn ligaments), But the act of casting for 4 weeks has created a big problem,,, . Then take into consideration that it's a level 3 doing back handsprings and add more time for that! Not sure when her season ends, but if it ends in November like ours then the season is a scratch. (Sectionals is Oct 25th, that means she would have to qualify the 18th, and that is too soon and not worth the risk). If that is indeed the case, then try and get a refund NOW for the meets she has already paid for, and get a new DR....

 

[Dka]

My dd just got cleared last week after her elbow fracture... Her coach is taking it very slow the first 2 weeks, lots of strength work etc( she never missed a day in the gym while injured either)..she is starting back slowly but surely. She will compete again in January..

 

[munchkin3]

I would say NO too.......what is the point? L3???? C'mon give her a break. What message are you sending her? That injuries are not to be taken seriously, and her competing is worth putting her in harms way?

I watched my son compete a whole season with a broken wrist (we did not know because of a misdiagnosis). His 'tender' wrist that could have been fixed with 4-6 weeks of total RICE and a cast, instead took 1 year and surgery. 2 years later, he is getting ready to compete. Looking back, if I had known what I know now, he would have just taken a few months off and enjoyed other activities....

 

[profmom]

If her elbow was immobilized for four weeks, it will probably take her a week or two just to get full range of motion back. No tumbling until then! If she dislocates it doing a tumbling pass or vault on it because it's stiff, it will be a MUCH longer and more uncertain road to full recovery. So says the survivor of a child's broken arm a few years ago.

I strongly suggest asking an orthopedist familiar with gymnastics and with your DD's injury when it would be appropriate for your DD to return to full gym activities.

 

[my4buffaloes]

A few years ago when we just didn't know enough my dd came back too quickly. The Dr told her to take it slow, but she didn't listen. Reinjured her foot and it was nagging for a couple of months after that. There is really no rush!

 

[still hanging]

1. She is an L3.....NO HURRY to get back at this level AT ALL!
2. Anytime my child has come out of a cast, boot or sling there was a 2 week period that she was still not allowed to do anything or limited activity. Let's not forget the strength she needs to rebuild. Sometimes you as a parent have to make decisions for the future body and not the immediate.
2. As far as competing without training for month + loss of strength = failure (loss of self esteem)
3. Your doctor would be a concern to me because who puts on takes off a cast and lets a child return to gymnastics immediately?! However if she was casted just for tender that brings raises more questions. YIKES! I prefer seeing a Pediatric Sports Medicine doctor as I find they are more familiar with injuries related sports. Ours fortunately knows gymnastics.

There will be many more meets.

 

[mOm2gymnast<3]

Thank you everyone. I was concern and that's why I asked. I really do believe that 2 weeks is not enough. Asked her coach, if she should scratch and her coach reply was, she will be okay, she will bounce back because she's a hard worker. Not really an answer I was looking for. I don't want to send her competing when I know, she is not able to perform her best because of the lack of training and missed practices.