Has anyone else on here been through this? (Long)

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Im a Level 7 gymnast and back in October I was training a vault and dislocated my elbow. I was recently released to do gymnastics only to find out that my physical therapist wasnted an MRI(might I add my arm was no where near straight) the MRI was on las thursday and needless to say there was still a lot wrong with it and The doc where I had them done told me I should not be doing gymnastics. my mom, physical therapist, and I have been trying ti get this MRI for 6 weeks as we all knew there was still somthing wrong with it. Even my coach could tell. I had just started to do backhandsprings and backwalkovers on beam. So I went to the doctor yesterday to find out he never opened the MRI and tld me the same thing that the people where I got it done at said which was that there is a bruised bone, there is fluid in the jointa pretty major muscle tear, and a possible tear in the ligament but wouldnt say anything more and then told me it would bein better intrest to go to a different doctor because I was a gymnast and he doesn't do surgerys unless it is to fix a broken bone. So now I have to go to a elbow specialist to find out if I need surgery or not, and I might have to get surgery (whats known asTommy John surgery in baseball) and that would takeme out another year. Im soo worried about what the results are going to be and has anyone else had this kind of problem with a doctor? he was an Orthopedic in Sports medicine so we thought he would be good. But I think I should of had an MRI way before now anyone else agree or have any advice for me?
 
OMG!!! I was reading your post and the almost the exact same thing happened to one of my DD's teammates!!!! She was actually practicing a yerchenko vault and severely injured her elbow... something all about the angles she hit the springboad and the vault. Her mom could explain it in detail, but the bottom line is she DID have tests run and thought it was "just" soft tissue damage. After the inflammation went down, she started the PT, but it just wasn't getting any better. She finally went to a specialist, had MORE tests run and her elbow was actually broken!!! She faced the same issues re: surgery or not. They decided that the surgery was actually more traumatic w/her being a gymnast, so she was braced/splinted for what seemed like a L O N G time.

This all happened at the beginning of October and she was just released to go back to gymnasts a month ago. She competed in one meet in early March and qualified to states (which was this past weekend). She did a GREAT job, especially considering she didn't have much workout time this season!!! (34 something AA).

Anyway, the only advice I can give you is that you need to be your own advocate when it comes to your medical treatment. i cannot believe that the MRI was ordered, but not looked at. I think if you had had that test run, and you hadn't heard back, you or your mom should have definitely followed up with it. Mistakes are made in medicine all the time, and we have to stay on top of our Doctors. They are definitely overworked as well.

You need to take the time off from gym to allow your body to fully heal... doing anything else is just asking for more injury.
 
Thats weird I was doing a drill for a yurchenko and actually hurt it doing the roundoff part but land backwards on it haha. and like they gave us the MRI but the doc never opened it just told us what the test doc told him. Im looking forward to going to thisdoctor he is a major league baseball trainer for the team in our area and is supposed to be very good. Its just hard to deal with when it was going to be a really good season formeI had gotten my giantsand everything was solid but I never got to compete:(
 
Your health is way more important than gymnastics, always remember that. It stinks that it's taken the doctors so long to figure out what's going wrong and get you going in the right direction, but hopefully this new doctor will provide a reasonable solution. Sometimes you really do need to be pushy when it comes to doctors, some are more qualified in certain areas than others. It's just a shame the one you saw didn't tell you your injury was outside his area of expertise when he first met with you. I know when I was competing there were a handful of orthopedic specialists who had experience working with gymnasts and more gymnastics specific injuries who usually came recommended. So if this new doctor doesn't work out, maybe ask around at the gym for recommendations, but hopefully that won't be necessary.
As far as surgery, talk it out with your parents and the new doctor once he checks out the MRIs. I'm not a doctor and don't have personal experience with your injury, so I can't give you any more definitive advice. And what's right for one person isn't always right for another. For all you know the new doctor might lay out a whole new recovery plan that might not even involve surgery. Try to stay optimistic until then.
 
thats really inspiring and actually made me feel a little better thanks:) its hard watching your teamatesmove on and youstuck doing turns and leaps haha. And the doc was the one the ER recommended so we tookit as i need an appointment in 5 days
 
Yes, this happened to my dd. She flew off the bars and broke her elbow in Oct in the middle of level 5 season. The stupid dr did no tests, just looked at the first X-ray and put her in a cast for 4 weeks.She should have had surgery right away. When the cast came off, her arm was a 90 degree angle. Therapy did nothing for it. finally in March, I said that it wasn't getting better. i found a new dr in Atlanta. He was so good and really cared. He took one look and said she needed surgery. But, his clinic closed a month later. I had to find yet another dr. Found one in May. He ran all the tests (ultrasound, MRI, cat scan) that the first idiot should have.
mind you, dd was still doing gym all this time with a bent arm. Had the surgery in July. After 10 weeks she was released, and competed in October, halfway through level 6 season. So, it was a year. She still scored more 9's in level 6 than anyone else on the team except one girl. Her arm is still slightly bent and will never be straight, but she is an awesome gymnast.
 
Thats really inspiring that im not theonly one going through this. I was in a cast for 3 weeks but when it cam off my arm dropped to farther then a 95 angle. you wonder sometimes how doctors become doctors. I feel like some know nothing. I hopeyour DD does great for theremainder of this season!
 

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