MAG Speaking of injuries, TFCC anyone??

[munchkin3]

It has been a long time since I have written! It is nice to post again.
DS has had a terrible season and many series of unfortunate events!
He hurt his wrist in November. He did not say anything until a week before the first meet, when he really tweaked it. He could not do under grip giants anymore. Went to the doctor and got an MRI and they said he had partially torn some tendons in the wrist.....TFCC injury. (NOT PUV)
*scratch the first meet.....
Doctors said baby it, ice it etc.....take out the skills which cause pain and it should be ok in 3-6 MONTHS.....
DS worked with it, dumbed down his routines....a week before his first meet, he sprained his ankle BIG time! (Playing basketball at night! Ok at least he is doing something other than Gymnastics!!)
Go to ER to make sure it's not broken, no thank goodness, not broken. Surprisingly, the doctor said he could compete as long as he taped it up....omit floor and vault...
*second meet, dismal, but he proved to himself he could do it....
*Third meet, decent routines, left out some skills because of lack of practice (from being out injured!).
a week before 4th meet....major wrist tweak again....coach decides to watch closely for the next day of practice, and then we will make a call......
*yes, the call was that his season was over.
after 4 months of pain, icing, worrying about meet scores, worrying about worsening injury, it is done...HARD DECISION!!!
3Days later, hand specialist puts him in a cast up to his armpit...it should be better in 4 weeks. Best case scenario....I guess worst case is surgery, but we won't think about that.
DS still wants to be ready to compete in 3 months....his goals are still there. He loves the sport. He won't do anything else....
anyone else have experience with this injury? Outcomes?
PS he is 12

 

[skschlag]

Poor guy! I have no experience, but hate hearing about boys going down like this. Probably a good call, although a really hard one. Keep us posted on how he is doing!

 

[trapar]

Man, your ds has had one rough season! I don't have any experience with that particular injury, but I can relate to how you must be feeling. It's so frustrating and worrisome at the same time. I'm sure that cast can't be comfortable for him either. I'm glad he's looking forward to getting past it and getting back to the sport he loves! Sending healing wishes his way!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

is it type 1 or 2? did they say? worst case scenario is a minor procedure (all other things considered) because the central portion of the TFCC has no direct blood supply (avascular), where large central disc tears do not heal well and may require arthroscopic surgery to trim or remove torn cartilage while leaving the support ligaments in place ("TFCC Tear"). i have known gymnasts that have had this procedure done with excellent outcome and grew up to still do gymnastics at a high level.

 

[munchkin3]

I don't know about the severity, but I am assuming it is the least severe. I think it is just tendon and ligament 'fraying' at this point.
It is really hard when they get injured as a parent because you don't know when to say stop. These kids are so used to pushing through the pain, and they don't always come clean with everything.
I have really become patient in the last year and I realize that if he wants to do the sport until college, he certainly has time to recover fully from these injuries. Plus he is at the age with growth spurts + crazy skills......it is when kids can really get injured!
Right now I am using these injuries as a lesson in that he WILL get better and WILL continue to compete and be successful and happy.....
Trapar, thanks for your words of encouragement! I really appreciate it and you know where I am coming from. I have seen some really crazy stuff with injuries and competing and parents, so forgive me if I sound so severe....it just that GYMNASTICS is DANGEROUS! Still a great sport, but it is not soccer! The cast ain't so bad, a bit worse than the long leg cast but my son always has a way to make it a plus...

Dunno- coach, doctor, and parents are trying to make sure it STAYS minor, and he wants to get better as quickly as possible, heck my son opted for the 4 week cast because he was so sick of the pain!..I will keep you posted in a week or so whence gets it off....
Thanks for the kind ears....it has been a long time since I have vented!!

 

[iwannacoach]

So let's see what can be done to keep it minor. Can you tell us if the same skill or event has been the culprit on both occasions of injury. Can you post, or private message, a video link to allow some observation of how he moves on the apparatus. I don't know about any body but myself and one other poster on this thread, but I can say either one of us has a chance of noticing things about how he moves and whether that is a possible contributor to the recurring injury.

 

[munchkin3]

I wish could I've you something concrete....
the first time was conditioning on mushroom Practicing circles, flairs and russians....First ouch, he ignored it. (November15)
then a few weeks later, cast to under grip handstand, & giants.....big ouch...(December5)
Got an MRI and they said some fraying and tearing on the tendon in the wrist, right above the little knob on pinky side of the wrist. If we put pressure right above the bone and pressed on the ligament caused the most pain....luckily his wrist is stable and otherwise ok.
Then it seemed to be slowly healing....slowly, mind you, he eliminated a lot of skills....
then 3 weeks ago (march) conditioning, he was working in and out of back levers on parallel bars when he popped it again.
The only consistency with this injury is when turns his wrist out, palm up and pinky turning towards the thumb. I guess doing back levers on PBars puts more strain on the wrist than doing them on rings....that did it.
He will be fine....it is more a mental game right now....going to practice and doing hollow body rocks, and legs, and bands totally sucks while everyone is getting ready for states and regionals.....
All I can do is encourage, and take care of my boy...sleep lots, eat right...
BTW, anyone have any input on glucosamine chondritin for a 12/13 yo?? Just a thought.

 

[iwannacoach]

I can only make a wild guesses based upon you most recent post, and that's not going to be much use to you. I'll do a little checking around to see what I can find out.