Parents The Gymnast Career Injuries Catalogue - Add Yours

[Sasha]

What injuries has your gymnast sustained as a direct result of gymnastics? (only from gym training - not from tripping on the curb, snowboarding, playground, etc..)

What was the outcome of each? i.e., missed 2 months of gym and full recovery; PT for 8 weeks then re-injured and out for 6 months, still ongoing.....

I thought it could be useful to parents/people new to gymnastics (or new to injuries) to have a collection of individual accounts of injuries directly related to gymnastics sustained over a gymnast's career to date. Perhaps as a kind of collective gauge of specific common injuries, as well as to get a sense of the realistic life of a gymnast in terms of injury expectations. All gymnasts are unique of course, and this is not intended to be scientific.

Care to add yours? (Feel free to add more/less detail)

My Gymnast's Injury Experience
Gender:
Age now:
Age Started Gymnastics:
Current Level and Hours/Week:
Gymnastics injury 1: Outcome?
Gymnastics injury 2: Outcome?
Etc..

 

[skschlag]

i'll play

My Gymnast's Injury Experience
Gender: male
Age now:14
Age Started Gymnastics:14 months, competing at 6
Current Level and Hours/Week: 9/21
Gymnastics injury 1: Outcome? Strained rotor cuff when he was 10. Out for 2 months, no issues
Gymnastics injury 2: Outcome? sprained ankle, age 13 limited for months, braced
Gymnastics injury 3: Outcome? Muscles spasms in lower back age 13 (Thank goodness no stress fracture). did 1 event for 4 months, added others slowly. No issues (Thank you rossiter!)
Gymnastics injury 4: Outcome? Strained thumb, age 14 limited for 3 weeks...still waiting but improving
Gymnastics injury 5: forgot about the gymnast wrist! Age 8-11. Off and on braces and rest. now fine, but wears Skidz

 

[dani4]

I'm following this one. No team kids yet in my family, and the closest thing to a gym injury was when my younger daughter, age 4 at the time, tripped on a mat. She was fine, but her coach called me up the next day to see how she was doing. So sweet!

 

[BachFlyer]

My Gymnast's Injury Experience

Gender: F
Age now: 15
Age Started Gymnastics: 7
Current Level and Hours/Week: 3rd yr L10, 18.5 hrs school year, 24 hrs summer

Gymnastics injury 1: Age 9-present, Osgood Schlatters, no time off, lots of Advil=permanent bumps under knee caps and intermittent pain. (Note: if you ever wanted to incapacitate her, a light kick in the knee would do the trick!)

Gymnastics injury 2: Age 10-Sprained middle finger at top knuckle, taped a week, no time off=no lasting issues

Gymnastics injury 3: Age 12-Fractured 2nd metatarsal left foot, 8 weeks off + 6 weeks easing back in to training=no lasting issues.

Gymnastics injury 4: Age 15, Minor high-ankle sprain, taped 4 weeks and no time off=all good now.

 

[munchkin3]

I'll play.
Son
Age when he quit, 15 yo
Started at 6.... 9 years in
At height of practice, 21 hrs per week....@L8
Injury- at 10, avulsion fracture of the kneecap, out 1 month with long leg cast
Injury- 12 yrs avulsion fracture, ankle 4 weeks out
Injury- 13 yrs fractured wrist, and TFCC Injury...surgery, out 9 months.
Injury- 13/14 yo elbow tendinitis, limited use 4 months.


Daughter,
Age, 11
Started at 6 yo....5 yrs in
L7 training 20-24 hrs

Severs on and off......Advil and stretching. No time off.
Knee pain sometimes with no time off and use of knee strap.
Knock on wood.

 

[raenndrops]

My Gymnast's Injury Experience

Gender: F
Age now: 15
Age Started Gymnastics: 7
Current Level and Hours/Week: 3rd yr L10, 18.5 hrs school year, 24 hrs summer

Gymnastics injury 1: Age 9-present, Osgood Schlatters, no time off, lots of Advil=permanent bumps under knee caps and intermittent pain. (Note: if you ever wanted to incapacitate her, a light kick in the knee would do the trick!)

I can totally relate. I have been "incapacitated" several times due to a light kick in the knee. Not fun.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

My Gymnast's Injury Experience
Gender: female
Age now: 12
Age Started Gymnastics: 6
Current Level and Hours/Week: 7/8, 20hrs/wk
Gymnastics injury 1: severely sprained elbow (thought broken) doing bars. No bars, handstands etc for 4wks I think. Healed fine
Gymnastics injury 2: severs. No vaulting or tumbling for several months (late summer-winter last year) Still ongoing but milder now. Wears cheetah cups and treats as needed with ice, massage, antiinflammatories.
Gymnastics injury 3: sprained wrists, wrist extenders. Limited handstands, BHS on beam, presses etc. ongoing issue, ok at the moment.

She's had a bunch of other sprains such as hamstring, quad, ankle a few times, thumb. Some of these have put her out of certain things for a little bit but just modifications for a shorter time (2-4wks). The above are the only more lengthy ones that required modifying her workouts for an extended amount of time

 

[BachFlyer]

@raenndrops - I feel for you and for her! She is not a crier, but the few times that she's slipped on come down on the beam on her knee has brought her to the ground in tears. I was a runner, but not until high school and I was mostly done growing, so thankful that never happened to me. I have to wonder what percentage of gym injuries/chronic issues would be avoided if they weren't training while growing...probably a good 50% at least!

 

[Mom2-4]

Female
Age 13
Started gym at 3
Training 1st year 8
Broken third metacarpal on hand at age 11, caught it on tumble track. Casted for 6 weeks. Did other skills core and legs at gym. No long term issues.
Chronic back pain for 3 years stupid backwalkover on beam. Has been X-rayed twice. Going to specialist who deals with Olympic and college gymnasts on Wednesday. Don't know about long term yet. Definitely limits back tumbling for now.

 

[Mom2-4]

Female
Age 13
Started gym at 3
Training 1st year 8
Broken third metacarpal on hand at age 11, caught it on tumble track. Casted for 6 weeks. Did other skills core and legs at gym. No long term issues.
Chronic back pain for 3 years stupid backwalkover on beam. Has been X-rayed twice. Going to specialist who deals with Olympic and college gymnasts on Wednesday. Don't know about long term yet. Definitely limits back tumbling for now.

Sorry forgot hours 16 during school 20 in summer.

 

[l.c.o]

My Gymnast's Injury Experience

All things considered, DD has been very lucky...

Gender: F
Age now: 12
Age Started Gymnastics: rec: age 4 & preteam: almost 6
Current Level and Hours/Week: 6/7, ~18hrs for summer, 15-16hrs school year

Gymnastics injury 1: R extensor tendinitis (foot, don't remember the specific tendon). Outcome? Modified practices 4 weeks, full recovery. At the time, she was age 9 training 16 hours per week for level 3/4 (different gym than now).

Gymnastics injury 2: L achilles tendinitis.
Outcome? Modified practices 3 weeks under trainer's care, no improvement. Referred to p/t due to concerns over how tight the tendon was. P/T removed DD from gym for one week, then six weeks of modified training hours building up to training full routines, slowly increasing hours/activity. Full recovery (practice at 100%, and no pain) considered ~3.5 months from onset of pain. DD was age 10, same gym.

Gymnastics injury 3: R achilles tendinitis.
Outcome? This was immediately following/concurrent to previously noted achilles tendinitis in the opposite foot, despite applying P/T and additional strength equally between them. DD just didn't report pain immediately, as she was "afraid of letting coaches down". DD informed us of pain about 1-2 weeks after a gym change (this was ~4-6 weeks after being fully cleared from achilles tendinitis on other side). This may have (likely?) influenced DD's firm insistence at the time to either quit or switch gyms.
Outcome: Two weeks of modified practice, then back to 100%.

 

[MILgymFAM]

My Gymnasts' Injury Experiences

Genders: female (1), female (2)
Ages now: (1) 14, (2) 12
Ages Started Gymnastics: (1) 12, (2) 9
Current Level and Hours/Week: (1) training 7 and 23 hours, (2) L7 t&t and 4+4 hours (class + open gym)
Gymnastics injury 1: osgood knee (1) Outcome? Pain but no time off
Gymnastics injury 2: severs (2) Outcome? Cheetah cups, no time off, has passed.
Gymnastics injury 3: sprained back (2)
Outcome? Two weeks off
Gymnastics injury 4: sprained then fractured wrist (2)
Outcome? Two weeks off for sprain in a brace, then tiger paws. Three weeks out of gym for fracture, then no more tumbling at all- she'll no longer compete it either.
Gymnastics injury 5: back pain (undetermined- no fractures) (1)
Outcome? Ongoing pain on beam BWOs.
Gymnastics injury 6: two broken fingers (2) (this was doing gym before she "did gym"
Outcome? Cast for five weeks.

 

[LizzieLac]

Gender: F
Age now: 16
Age Started Gymnastics: Rec - age 7, competing - age 10
Current Level and Hours/Week: 7, 16 hrs for summer, 13-14 hrs school year

Non-specific: lots of wrist hurting, back pain, knees hurt kind of complaining over the years. Never turned out to be anything serious.

Gymnastics injury 1: Extreme Osgood schlatters for 2 years, while 11 and 12. Modified workouts- low tumbling, next to no vault, lots of ice, advil, and tears. Finally went to PT - that and the end of the growth spurt helped.
Outcome: No lasting impact, other than funky little form things where she compensated for the pain for so long.

Gymnastics injury 2: Level 2 ankle sprain at 13
Outcome: Reduced gym for 3-4 weeks, braced and taped, used ice and then gradual return with modified workouts and ankle balance and strengthening work

Gymnastics injury 3: Broken tibia and fibula at 14
Outcome: Where to start? October...Emergency room, anesthesia to set the leg, full leg cast for one week. Decided on surgery (rod and 4 screws), got an infection. No gym for about 5-6 weeks, once she could walk without crutches went back to condition. TONS of PT, everything from ankle strengthening, balance, quad and calf strengthening, etc. Back to modified training in January, but still infected - lots of doctor visits, including infectious disease specialists. Minor surgery removing one screw that was supposed to be the removal of all metal. Was able to compete watered down beam and bars in February, then beam, bars, and floor in March. Still infected - antibiotics all this time. Back to full training in May. Trained all summer, still infected. Surgery to remove all hardware in November. Missed about one week, then back to modified workouts and gradually building back up to full clearance at the end of January. Fully back at it after that. In total missed almost all of one season and half of the next.
No lasting issues other than LOTS of scars on her left leg, fears to overcome, skills to get back, and just a really lousy 18 months.

 

[munchkin3]

[emoji173]️

 

[gymbeam]

am almost afraid to post for fear of jinxing her! LOL

Gender: F
Age now: 11
Age Started Gymnastics:8
Current Level and Hours/Week: training 8/ 24hrs
Gymnastics injury: Severs limited vault reps for a few weeks and jammed thumb on beam was sore for about 2 weeks.

 

[Smartiegirl]

Gender: F
Age now: 14
Age Started Gymnastics: USAG Level 3 age 7
Current level and Hours/week training USAIGC Gold / 14 hours week

Gymnastics injury 1: Osgood Schlotters age 10, no vaulting lots of ice and advil subsided after 5 months, returned at age 13 in right knee only. DD now 5'7" hopefully will subside soon as is limiting vaulting of Tsuks and Yurchenchos

Gymnastics injury #2: Fell off uneven bars about 1 month after learning giants age 11 March 2013. Broke both bones right arm, one was compound fracture, 3 surgeries, put plate/wire in/ take wire out, take plate out. No tumbling or use of arm for 6 months, was training level 7 at the time. Just ballet conditioning and legs for 6 months. Returned Nov 2013, won level 6 beam at states the following April, could not catch up in time to compete Lev 7. No lasting issues but afraid of hitting feet on lay out flyaways these days.

Gymnastics injury #3: Came home August 2014 complaining of back pain. Diagnosis bi-lateral pars fracture L5 S1, overuse injury, 12 weeks in hard brace, plus mega PT during that time. Returned to gym Dec 2014, competed level 7. Started feeling pain again May 2015 while training L8, mainly during tumbling hard floor and Yurchencho drills. Switched to USAIGC to lower hours less stress on back. Still feels back pain when trains 3 days in a row, and limits back tumbling as much as possible, but no new injury. Constant pain management with fear of reinjury makes the sport a lot less fun.

 

[AgingHippie]

My Gymnast's Injury Experience
Gender: F
Age now: 10 (will be 11 in the fall)
Age Started Gymnastics: 8
Current Level and Hours/Week: training 7 - 18 hours
Gymnastics injury 1: Outcome? Tendinitis in elbow. 2 weeks of modified practice - elbow brace when it flares up
Gymnastics injury 2: Outcome? Back Pain. Continuous - cause undetermined. We ice as necessary and competed a BHS rather than a BWO in 5 and will do the BHS, BHS series next year rather than a BWO.

 

[ascarter1]

Gender: Female

Age now: 12

Age started gymnastics: 7

Current level and hours/week: lv 8, 20 hrs

Gymnastics injury 1: 8 years old hyperextended knee, Advil and wore knee strap for 1 year

Gymnastics injury 2: Severs Disease, 9 years old, pt exercises, ice, Advil, tennis shoes and inserts

Gymnastics injury 3: ischial apophysitis, 3 weeks no impact 10 years old

Gymnastics injury 4: back pain, k-t tape, ice/heat, Epsom salt baths, Advil, modified workout as needed, 6 weeks of pain, 11 years old

Gymnastics injury 4: rolled ankle, grade 1 sprain, Advil, ice, k-t tape, brace, 3 weeks, 11 years old

Gymnastics injury 5: rolled ankle grade 2, Advil, ice, k-t tape, brace (still wearing as protection) 11 years old

Gymnastics injury 6: distal radial Epiphysitis, braced for 3 weeks, no impact, Advil, ice, pt, 12 years old, still twinges at times so she modifies as needed.

Hoping for an injury free season this year!!!!

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Add what we hope is just a severely sprained ankle. Really bruised, we have an appt Friday morning.

 

[sce]

Add what we hope is just a severely sprained ankle. Really bruised, we have an appt Friday morning.

Oh no! Hope she heals quickly.