WAG So - who has recovered from a stress fracture in their back?

[lovegymfam]

Well, we are now on day 22 of no gymnastics and the pain has not really improved - which in all fairness - she had the flu (was hospitalized for it) and that probably didn’t help her body. We had a follow up last week with the orthopedic who said another 2 weeks of zero activity and a different anti inflammatory. Come back in another two weeks and re-evaluate, if not better may need to be braced. I am taking her to a pedicure orthopedic next week for a different opinion.... this sucks.

Does she have pain with daily activities? DD only had pain with some extension in gym only. I was unsure about bracing at first, because I had heard it can't really help it heal faster and can be counter productive in strengthening the core muscles. We ended up doing it because I figured it would at least be a reminder to not extend and could help with her posture. The brace may help with the pain. Good luck and prayers!

 

[gasrgoose]

Well, we are now on day 22 of no gymnastics and the pain has not really improved - which in all fairness - she had the flu (was hospitalized for it) and that probably didn’t help her body. We had a follow up last week with the orthopedic who said another 2 weeks of zero activity and a different anti inflammatory. Come back in another two weeks and re-evaluate, if not better may need to be braced. I am taking her to a pedicure orthopedic next week for a different opinion.... this sucks.

Mine continued to feel pain for 5-6 weeks. Physical therapy made the difference. She was one of the strongest on physical abilities in our gym (1 elite and another level 10 would beat her). But when she started physical therapy all the doctors and therapists talked about the weakness of a particular muscle in her core. They believe this is what caused the problem. I was shocked that any part of her would be considered weak, she is freaky physically talented. But she was so strong is some areas that other muscles weren't being developed and eventually the imbalance of strength caused the fracture. Our gym was clearly missing something in conditioning/training. But to the physical therapists there was a glaring obvious weakness. So going forward she will be regularly evaluated and working with a physical therapists. She has to use her back the rest of her life and we will do whatever we can to protect and strengthen her.

 

[meganliz77]

We have had a few kids come through it. The journey is very individual. Some have recovered quickly and successfully, with no further pain again. Others have had a hard time recovering, it we have never had a kid driven from the sport because of it.

The problem with stress fractures in the back, is they are often a result of long term stress on the back, not an acute injury. This means that there is an underlying problem and if the underlying problem in not addressed then it will not heal because as soon as activity starts again, the problems will begin again.

Quite often the cause is not gymnastics at all, but posture, especially when sitting at school. The gymnastics then adds to the stress on the back, which leads to the fractures. This is so hard to deal with because every day they will continue to sit and stand with poor posture, which will continue to aggravate the problem. These kids need to do vigilant exersices to improve their posture and often wear a brace at school.

Often the problem is caused by a weakness somewhere in their body such as a lack of flexibility in their shoulders or hip flexors, meaning every time they do a bridge or walkover, there is more pressure on their lumber spine. Or a lack of strength in the glutes. These issues need to be continually addressed.

Sometimes there is an underlying cause in the body itself, such as an inborn bone abnormality, which is minor but only comes to light after years of gymnastics.

As a coach, once you have had a kid with a stress fracture in their back, you have to always be vigilent and limited arching skills.

Just curious @Aussie_coach - how would I know if my kiddo is flexible in shoulders and hip flexors, or if she lacks flexibility there? It seems silly to ask - I feel like I should be able to look and see it, but to my untrained eye I find it hard to tell. DD says she is flexible in her shoulders, but I am just wondering if there is something to look for to see it. Right now, there are two girls on our team (very small) who are braced with stress fractures in the back. One of the girls I actually witness her come down on a front handspring hard and immediately clutch her back. She is very tall and a much broader gymnast- level 8 - age 13. The other is a 13 yo level 10. She has had a TON of injuries and this is her most recent. She is built more like my DD, small and strong. But I have no idea regarding flexibility in either one of them. We had another girl quit last year due to back issues - actually had to have surgery. They attributed that to a genetic issue that was exacerbated by gymnastics.

I just get worried as DD progresses... I really hope she can avoid an injury like this.

 

[IreneKa]

Just curious @Aussie_coach - how would I know if my kiddo is flexible in shoulders and hip flexors, or if she lacks flexibility there? It seems silly to ask - I feel like I should be able to look and see it, but to my untrained eye I find it hard to tell. DD says she is flexible in her shoulders, but I am just wondering if there is something to look for to see it. Right now, there are two girls on our team (very small) who are braced with stress fractures in the back. One of the girls I actually witness her come down on a front handspring hard and immediately clutch her back. She is very tall and a much broader gymnast- level 8 - age 13. The other is a 13 yo level 10. She has had a TON of injuries and this is her most recent. She is built more like my DD, small and strong. But I have no idea regarding flexibility in either one of them. We had another girl quit last year due to back issues - actually had to have surgery. They attributed that to a genetic issue that was exacerbated by gymnastics.

I just get worried as DD progresses... I really hope she can avoid an injury like this.

Check out this article:
http://shiftmovementscience.com/bri...ossible-injury-prevention-for-the-lower-back/

 

[meganliz77]

Check out this article:
http://shiftmovementscience.com/bri...ossible-injury-prevention-for-the-lower-back/

Thanks! There is a lot of great information on that website!! (Now how do I get the coach to look at it...LOL )

 

[Traci]

Hey. Well, DD is pretty much in constant pain, unless she isn’t moving - which could also be causing pain, couldn’t it?? (Stiffness).

We are going to see a pediatric orthopedic doc on Wednesday... the one we’ve been seeing doesn’t want her her to do anything - if it hurts. Which, everything hurts so....

This is really hard...

 

[IreneKa]

Hey. Well, DD is pretty much in constant pain, unless she isn’t moving - which could also be causing pain, couldn’t it?? (Stiffness).

We are going to see a pediatric orthopedic doc on Wednesday... the one we’ve been seeing doesn’t want her her to do anything - if it hurts. Which, everything hurts so....

This is really hard...

Yes, definitely sounds like she needs another doctor. And most likely a brace. Good luck! Keep us posted.

 

[BachFlyer]

I'm sorry Traci. I hope the new doc can narrow down the cause and solution for you soon.

 

[bogwoppit]

It was one of the hardest periods of parenting I went through. Mine ended up in constant pain. Hopefully you get answers and a new treatment path. Surgery cured the constant pain for mine, but that is not without it's issues. DD, now 21, works very hard on her strength still. It is the only way she can have a normalish life.

 

[gymmutti]

DD was diagnosed with bilateral stress reactions on her L5 at 13yo. We went to the dr and had x-rays on 12/21 which didn’t show anything but Dr sent us for a MRI and a week later she got her diagnosis. On 1/7 she was fitted with a back brace and began PT about 2 weeks later. She did no gymnastics at that point, just PT with no extensions . At 6 weeks after first diagnosis we had a follow up appt where she was still having pain with extensions (but otherwise fine). At this point she realized her season was done. At 12 weeks after diagnosis she still has a little pain with one test but definite improvement. PT hours increase and she is allowed back to gym for dance and conditioning but no extensions and still has brace. She can remove brace while sleeping at this point and while in PT. Finally after 5 months she passes all the tests and is allowed to begin gym again slowly with PT working closely with her coaches. She was back to 100% by August.

Not nearly as fast of a recovery as many girls but she has not had back issues in the 2 years since then. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

DD was diagnosed with bilateral stress reactions on her L5 at 13yo. We went to the dr and had x-rays on 12/21 which didn’t show anything but Dr sent us for a MRI and a week later she got her diagnosis. On 1/7 she was fitted with a back brace and began PT about 2 weeks later. She did no gymnastics at that point, just PT with no extensions . At 6 weeks after first diagnosis we had a follow up appt where she was still having pain with extensions (but otherwise fine). At this point she realized her season was done. At 12 weeks after diagnosis she still has a little pain with one test but definite improvement. PT hours increase and she is allowed back to gym for dance and conditioning but no extensions and still has brace. She can remove brace while sleeping at this point and while in PT. Finally after 5 months she passes all the tests and is allowed to begin gym again slowly with PT working closely with her coaches. She was back to 100% by August.

Not nearly as fast of a recovery as many girls but she has not had back issues in the 2 years since then. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

Wow - that is wonderful that she has had no back issues for 2 years! DD is 4 weeks into this and is wearing a brace. She went to zero pain almost immediately and stayed there for 3 weeks, but something flared up a week ago despite the fact that she has been doing next to nothing and is in her brace 23/7(doc has been allowing her to do exercise bike and some upper body conditioning, but that's it). I just want to see her recover 100% regardless of how long it takes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bogwoppit]

Wine, lots of wine.

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Wine, lots of wine.

I am taking your advice!

 

[scanlri]

Yup... wine saved me!

 

[Traci]

Well, we went for the appt with the pediatric ortho - and he said - basically the same thing the first doctor said - but..... he is going to do a bone scan to see if there is something more to it. He also mentioned the possibility of degenerative disk, which scares me....but he said the scan should tell all......

Damn this sport.

 

[kimute]

Don't let the degenerative disk diagnosis scare you. It just means that there is some wear and tear on a disk that is causing pain. It can mean very little. I was told I had degenerative disks, spinal stenosis, and bulging disks when I was in my early 20s. I was not a gymnast. I am now 49 and have carried two kids, competed in ski races, tens of triathlons, and run every day. She'll get through this.

 

[my4buffaloes]

It's better to know everything now, rather than assume something only to find out later it is not that. Hopefully you will have a complete answer soon.

 

[IreneKa]

Well, we went for the appt with the pediatric ortho - and he said - basically the same thing the first doctor said - but..... he is going to do a bone scan to see if there is something more to it. He also mentioned the possibility of degenerative disk, which scares me....but he said the scan should tell all......

Damn this sport.

Did she have an MRI? My DD has degenerative facets, and it was diagnosed on MRI, not bone scan. If they didn't see anything on MRI, she probably doesn't have it, the doctor is just being over cautious.
Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Traci]

Yes - the sports ortho did the MRI and said it was L5 Pars Defect = stress fracture. Well, she is still in the same amount of pain (after 28 days of no gymnastics and no activity) so we went to a pediatric ortho who isn't 100% sure about the stress fracture but did mention possible degenerative disk issues in the L5 - so he wants a scan to see more.... Said the scan would tell him if the pain is Acute or Chronic....

 

[CrazyCatLady]

DD went back for her 4-week follow up last week after going in the hard brace - had zero pain for the first 3 weeks, but for some reason she has been having pain for the last 10 days just standing/sitting and now even during PT. Have any of you had this happen in a back brace? This is so frustrating...I should add - she did have MRI about 6 weeks ago and it showed L3/L5 stress reaction - not quite fractured, but close.