Parents Hi all! It's been a long BUSY summer!

[Emma's mom]

Hi all! I chatted a bit with Pepper on youtube and she wondered where we had been. So, with a few minutes to spare I decided I would catch up with all you.
We did not end up moving to Florida.... One happy Junior, the rest of us are in a bit of depression! However, dad did spend almost 4 months down there so I have been a single parent of 4.. We were lucky to spend a week in Disney and a week at the beach, so that helped out quite a bit! So, between Emma being so sick at the end of the season, double ear infection and flu at States, and then MONO, which lasted FOREVER, and baseball season kicking in high gear, we just have been crazy. Sorry we have missed so much! One good thing is that Emma spends a lot of time on youtube and she is pretty good about telling me about new videos! She loves your girls!
The good thing for Emma is that she gets to stay with the gym she has been at since she was 4. She of course is thrilled about that as am I. She has been working hard on her level 6 skills and is plugging along. Level 6 is a lot harder then I ever imagined!
With all that said, we do have a question for all you wonderful gymnast parents. Emma is having some problems with her heals. It is the very bottom back edge. I have asked her to try to be more aware of how she lands while tumbling, but she says that she is not landing on her heals. She usually gets better by the next morning, after icing after practice, but lately we have noticed that she is even favoring them the next day just walking. I know that as they progress, there are aches and pains that they just have to endure. She is only eight, so a pain is a pain to her. Hard for her to distinguish between being uncomfortable and flat out dying! I was just wondering if any of your gymmies have experienced anything like this. I have an email in to her coach, but I have not yet heard back.
Thanks in advance!

Shari and Emma

 

[NOG]

Hey Shari, great to cya on here. I'm so glad that I got the opportunity to talk to you this afternoon. I've missed you on here. As I mentioned, I think you might want to research Seviers or Severs. The heel cups that I was telling you about are Tuli's Cheetah heel cups. The website one of our gym girl's use for Tuli’s Cheetahs is www.medexsupply.com They cost $31.90 for a pair with $7.51 for shipping. She gets the ones that are not velcro. She said the velcro ones aren't as nice. Just go by the weight when ordering. Definately have Emma try the heel stretches, even if she doesn't have Sevier's, it can't hurt any. I would talk to an Ortho and have them verify that it is truely Sevier's before ordering them though. Maybe it's nothing more than a strain instead of Sevier's.

Hope that's helpful. Good luck to Emma at the Intersquad meet tonight. And let me know how her heels are doing. It was great chatting with you today, look forward to chatting again sometime.

Dena

 

[gym law mom]

It is pretty common for kids in sports that require alot of running and pounding to develop heel pain as they grow. Some kids go through it once and others have it come and go. It is referred to as Severs if the child has it long term(3-6 mos).

As mentioned above, heel stretches(or stretches for the Achilles) help, ice, advil and decreasing pounding. Yes, it may mean cutting back on the number of vaults she does, have her do more tumbling on tumble trak than floor and if the pain increases during a practice then stop doing what is causing pain. Obviously, you need to let her coaches know so they can monitor her. Some other tips are absolutely no flp flops, sandals---always have her wear shoes with decent support. You can try the heel gel inserts(that helped my gymmie some).

If you can't get into see an ortho quickly, take her to the family doc. Usually all they do is get x-rays of the heels to make sure there is no fracture.

 

[canadiangymmom]

Welcome back! It sounds like it's been a crazy time but nice to hear that everything's going in the right direction now.

I have to agree with the others about the heel pain. More likely than not, it's Severs, but I'd encourage you to get it checked to rule anything else out before proceeding with cups/braces/etc.. You don't want to waste money or risk aggravating a completely different issue.

If it turns out it's Severs, the best advice I can pass on from when Bean dealt with it didn't come from a professional, it came from another team mate! It was, wear heeled shoes! Bean was beyond *thrilled* (I'm not a fan of little kids in heels, and well...she's a runt, lol) The pain was drastically reduced for her.

Other things she did, pointed her toes regularly, decreased tumbling, and lastly, Tiger Balm foot massages before bed. I'm sure that the tiger balm didn't change anything, lol, but some love and attention, along with tingling feet, went a long way towards making Bean feel better!

I hope Emma feels great in record time and has a great level 6 season! I'm amazed by some of these little girls, competing such high levels so young! I can't wait to see her vids!

 

[kristilyn73]

Hey there! Thanks for the update!

Sorry to hear Emma has been having problems with her heels.. I am lucky Beetle hasnt had that particular problem (knock on wood.. )

I do know a couple kids in her gym has had it though, Ice, tape and advil has been the treatment of choice.

Good Luck!

 

[Emma's mom]

Hey Shari, great to cya on here. I'm so glad that I got the opportunity to talk to you this afternoon. I've missed you on here. As I mentioned, I think you might want to research Seviers or Severs. The heel cups that I was telling you about are Tuli's Cheetah heel cups. The website one of our gym girl's use for Tuli’s Cheetahs is www.medexsupply.com They cost $31.90 for a pair with $7.51 for shipping. She gets the ones that are not velcro. She said the velcro ones aren't as nice. Just go by the weight when ordering. Definately have Emma try the heel stretches, even if she doesn't have Sevier's, it can't hurt any. I would talk to an Ortho and have them verify that it is truely Sevier's before ordering them though. Maybe it's nothing more than a strain instead of Sevier's.

Hope that's helpful. Good luck to Emma at the Intersquad meet tonight. And let me know how her heels are doing. It was great chatting with you today, look forward to chatting again sometime.

Dena

Thanks Dena! Great to chat with you as well. Thanks for taking the time to call and give me all that info! Tonight was somewhat of a disaster! Coach was great and checked out her heels. He then put on some cheetahs that he had at the gym. Well it was hysterical! She walked around like a cat with tape on its paws! We were dying! She then tried to tumble and crashed and burned on her ro bhs bt. Scared the life out of me. Needless to say, I am afraid that the flyaway may not be our only obsticle!UGH Coach was great and spotted her and she looked awesome. He had her remove the cheetahs and do her routine with out the tumbling passes. She then went to the tumble track for the rest of floor time.
I am calling the doc in the morning to make her an appointment. HC just wants us to make sure we know what we are dealing with. I did order two sets of the cheetahs and by the time they are in, we should know what is going on.
So, wow what a start to this level we are having. I hope things turn around real soon.
Thanks again!
Shari and Emma

 

[Emma's mom]

It is pretty common for kids in sports that require alot of running and pounding to develop heel pain as they grow. Some kids go through it once and others have it come and go. It is referred to as Severs if the child has it long term(3-6 mos).

As mentioned above, heel stretches(or stretches for the Achilles) help, ice, advil and decreasing pounding. Yes, it may mean cutting back on the number of vaults she does, have her do more tumbling on tumble trak than floor and if the pain increases during a practice then stop doing what is causing pain. Obviously, you need to let her coaches know so they can monitor her. Some other tips are absolutely no flp flops, sandals---always have her wear shoes with decent support. You can try the heel gel inserts(that helped my gymmie some).

If you can't get into see an ortho quickly, take her to the family doc. Usually all they do is get x-rays of the heels to make sure there is no fracture.

Thank you for the advice! I am making her appointment in the morning. We had her ice after practice, took some advil, and did her heel stretches.
I passed along the info to Emma about the importance of good shoes and no more filp flops! It is cooling off so no argument there!

Thanks again!
Shari and Emma

 

[Emma's mom]

Welcome back! It sounds like it's been a crazy time but nice to hear that everything's going in the right direction now.

I have to agree with the others about the heel pain. More likely than not, it's Severs, but I'd encourage you to get it checked to rule anything else out before proceeding with cups/braces/etc.. You don't want to waste money or risk aggravating a completely different issue.

If it turns out it's Severs, the best advice I can pass on from when Bean dealt with it didn't come from a professional, it came from another team mate! It was, wear heeled shoes! Bean was beyond *thrilled* (I'm not a fan of little kids in heels, and well...she's a runt, lol) The pain was drastically reduced for her.

Other things she did, pointed her toes regularly, decreased tumbling, and lastly, Tiger Balm foot massages before bed. I'm sure that the tiger balm didn't change anything, lol, but some love and attention, along with tingling feet, went a long way towards making Bean feel better!

I hope Emma feels great in record time and has a great level 6 season! I'm amazed by some of these little girls, competing such high levels so young! I can't wait to see her vids!

Great advice! Emma will be thrilled if she can wear some sassy heals! She is quite the diva! Sounds like a shopping trip is in our future! Coach has already stopped her from tumbling. After trying the cheetahs tonight and her having wiped out, I do not think I will convince her to put those on again. Hopefully the ones that I ordered fit her better.

The foot massage sounds heavenly! She'll be all over that! Thanks for all your advice! Emma will think it is cool that she has something that Bean had! She loves to watch her!

Shari and Emma

 

[Emma's mom]

Hey there! Thanks for the update!

Sorry to hear Emma has been having problems with her heels.. I am lucky Beetle hasnt had that particular problem (knock on wood.. )

I do know a couple kids in her gym has had it though, Ice, tape and advil has been the treatment of choice.

Good Luck!

Thanks! I hope Beetle doesn't get them! Thanks for the advice!

Shari and Emma

 

[NOG]

Thanks Dena! Great to chat with you as well. Thanks for taking the time to call and give me all that info! Tonight was somewhat of a disaster! Coach was great and checked out her heels. He then put on some cheetahs that he had at the gym. Well it was hysterical! She walked around like a cat with tape on its paws! We were dying! She then tried to tumble and crashed and burned on her ro bhs bt. Scared the life out of me. Needless to say, I am afraid that the flyaway may not be our only obsticle!UGH Coach was great and spotted her and she looked awesome. He had her remove the cheetahs and do her routine with out the tumbling passes. She then went to the tumble track for the rest of floor time.
I am calling the doc in the morning to make her an appointment. HC just wants us to make sure we know what we are dealing with. I did order two sets of the cheetahs and by the time they are in, we should know what is going on.
So, wow what a start to this level we are having. I hope things turn around real soon.
Thanks again!
Shari and Emma

I wish you had taken video of the "cat with tape on its paws" that sounds like quite a site! I'm so sorry to hear about her wiping out though. Hopefully that's just a blip on the screen. Did she have an intersquad tonight? Hope that part went well. You'll have to let us know what the dr says about her heels. I'm wishing you lots of luck!

I agree about the shoes. I had forgotten about that. The girls at the gym that have Sevier's all stick with wearing tennis shoes with great arch support, or they REALLY like Crocs. I was surprised by that, didn't think Crocs would be that great, but the girls claim that they really cushion the heel and have a nice arch. They wear the Crocs thong sandals in the summer and the mules lined with fur in the winter. If you have some at home, you might want to try those.

Wishing you lots of fairies

 

[Emma's mom]

Dena,
No mock meet tonight. HC ended up having to do some interviews for new coaches! Probably a good thing considering how her night was going!
Emma has Crocs of every color...including Croc boots. There is a cheetah print kind that she has her eyes on. Always the fashion statement!

 

[Granny Smith]

I just wanted to say that my dd has on again off again heel problems that have flaired up over the past 2 yrs. It is not Severs. It is only in one heel and excessive tumbling seems to set it off, especially whip backs because of the pound her landing. We do see a "granola-type" doctor (or whatever you want to call her, she does muscle massage therapy stuff) when it flairs up and she does her thing and basically sets her to normal for about a good 9 months - then it seems to come back, only in the one heel. She will ice too when the pain is there. I could go into much more detail, but I really don't need people thinking I'm a freak!

Just wanted to you to know that my dd does experience the heel pain, which is not associated with Severs and it has been on-going for 2 yrs now. She has come to just deal with it.

Edited to add - make sure that she is wearing supportive shoes, really running type shoes are the best. Dd also puts the heel support things in her shoes, even her Uggs. Flip-flops are not good for heel pain, no support, but since summer is over hopefully that shouldn't be an issue.

 

[mariposa]

Hi Shari and Emma! Glad that things are going well now, except for the heel, but hopefully that will be something manageable and heal quickly. Happy to see you back on here. Hope to get meet reports. I am sending Emma lots of fairies to help her get over her fear issues and heel issues. I know she will do well this season.

 

[Emma's mom]

" I could go into much more detail, but I really don't need people thinking I'm a freak!"

Ha! Not a chance! I am open to whatever can help dd out! Thanks for all the great advice.

 

[Blackie6]

Hi Emma's mom!

Nice to have you back again. Sounds like a very busy couple months. I feel your pain, I have three kids and they are all super involved with a lot of different activities too. Just wanted to speak up about the heel pain. DD had her heel fracture in Dec and a couple months after it healed was still c/o pain in her heel once in awhile. Even limped at school or get into walking on her toes on her one foot. I worried that it wasn't heeling properly so off we went to the Ortho in April/May praying it wasn't another fracture. Good news was the doctor xrayed her foot and it was not fractured but he said she had Sever's disease, meaning that her heel cords were tight. Not due to gymnastics, more likely from a growth spurt. She now has to remember to stretch before gym, several times a day. Stand facing wall and do a lunge keeping foot/heel on floor or sit on floor with legs straight out in front and reach out and pull toes towards you to stretch out heel cords. My DD also wears a Tuli's Cheetah heel cup. It is NASTY, gets all sweaty and stinky but helps alot and we've been using one since December. We also have Tuli's heel cups to wear in her shoes. I just ordered her a new Cheetah for practice and got a great deal, much cheaper than the $31.00 price. I will post the link. I have an Ortho appointment for her scheduled becasue she jumped down from a bar on Monday night and c/o pain in same heel again so I just want to be sure, but probably just the Sever's acting up again. You may want to just double check with a Ortho though since my DD walked around on a fractured heel for about 2 weeks, and it was hard to pick up on regular 3 view films. Ortho did a 4th view of just back of heel which allowed it to be noticable.

CONGRATS on LEVEL 6!! It does look hard, but at least she is in her own gym with all those friends, coaches and good Karma. I'm sure she'll do really well!

 

[Blackie6]

I just wanted to say that my dd has on again off again heel problems that have flaired up over the past 2 yrs. It is not Severs. It is only in one heel and excessive tumbling seems to set it off, especially whip backs because of the pound her landing. We do see a "granola-type" doctor (or whatever you want to call her, she does muscle massage therapy stuff) when it flairs up and she does her thing and basically sets her to normal for about a good 9 months - then it seems to come back, only in the one heel. She will ice too when the pain is there. I could go into much more detail, but I really don't need people thinking I'm a freak!

Just wanted to you to know that my dd does experience the heel pain, which is not associated with Severs and it has been on-going for 2 yrs now. She has come to just deal with it.

Edited to add - make sure that she is wearing supportive shoes, really running type shoes are the best. Dd also puts the heel support things in her shoes, even her Uggs. Flip-flops are not good for heel pain, no support, but since summer is over hopefully that shouldn't be an issue.

Granny,

Making an appointment to get my DD into the Ortho again. Always ongoing issues with the one heel ever since the fracture!!! Jumped off a bar on Monday and been limping ever since! Not sure if it the Sever's or just this PITA old heel that will probably never be the same again. Did your DD ever fracture the heel that she has problems with??? And yes, we also put heel cups in everything, but the running and vault seem to aggrivate it the most.

 

[Blackie6]

Medical Supplies | Home Medical Equipment | Discount Medical Supply Store

I just ordered TWO Tuli's Heel cups for my DD last night! I ordered the one size fits all one and a small one. FREE shipping over $25 that ends TONIGHT! The code is on the website. My total was about $31.00 for both of them.

The one size fits all one looks like it has a velcro closure which I thought I would have DD try since the regular one is hard for her to get on by herself at the gym. And who wants to touch that stinky sweaty heel cup beside one of us who HAS too, LOL

 

[Emma's mom]

Hi Emma's mom!

Nice to have you back again. Sounds like a very busy couple months. I feel your pain, I have three kids and they are all super involved with a lot of different activities too. Just wanted to speak up about the heel pain. DD had her heel fracture in Dec and a couple months after it healed was still c/o pain in her heel once in awhile. Even limped at school or get into walking on her toes on her one foot. I worried that it wasn't heeling properly so off we went to the Ortho in April/May praying it wasn't another fracture. Good news was the doctor xrayed her foot and it was not fractured but he said she had Sever's disease, meaning that her heel cords were tight. Not due to gymnastics, more likely from a growth spurt. She now has to remember to stretch before gym, several times a day. Stand facing wall and do a lunge keeping foot/heel on floor or sit on floor with legs straight out in front and reach out and pull toes towards you to stretch out heel cords. My DD also wears a Tuli's Cheetah heel cup. It is NASTY, gets all sweaty and stinky but helps alot and we've been using one since December. We also have Tuli's heel cups to wear in her shoes. I just ordered her a new Cheetah for practice and got a great deal, much cheaper than the $31.00 price. I will post the link. I have an Ortho appointment for her scheduled becasue she jumped down from a bar on Monday night and c/o pain in same heel again so I just want to be sure, but probably just the Sever's acting up again. You may want to just double check with a Ortho though since my DD walked around on a fractured heel for about 2 weeks, and it was hard to pick up on regular 3 view films. Ortho did a 4th view of just back of heel which allowed it to be noticable.

CONGRATS on LEVEL 6!! It does look hard, but at least she is in her own gym with all those friends, coaches and good Karma. I'm sure she'll do really well!

Thanks Blackie6 for all the great advice!!! nw ohio gymmom warned me how stinky those cheetahs get! Darn about the website!!!!!! I already ordered two of the non adjustable ones. I got both, including shipping for about $41.00. I did take her to the doctor today. We are retired military and our insurance requires that we jump through hoops so I can not just take her to an ortho or a sports medicine doc without passing go first. So, they took xrays today. We have known our doc for a long time and trust him to make excellent choices for our family. He said that he was waiting for the radiologist to read the films and then he was going to consult with a sports medicine doc. He mentioned Severs, but was a bit concerned because the pain on exam with her left heel was much greater then the right and a bit different placement. So, she went to practice tonight and both coaches were very careful of her heels. She did not wear the cheetahs that he had after the mishap she had while tumbling. They are to big and she is not making that mistake again. Thanks for all the great advice and warm welcome back!!!

Shari and Emma

 

[gym law mom]

The heel pain is so frustrating because in many kids it doesn't follow any obvious pattern(Emma has more pain in her left heel than the right). My gymmie started out with pain in the left only, then both and then out of the blue no pain in the left, but alot of pain in the right. Now when it flares up a little its usually only the right heel.

Hope all comes back with a fairly simple explanation although it is tough trying to get them through this pain.

 

[Emma's mom]

Granny,

Making an appointment to get my DD into the Ortho again. Always ongoing issues with the one heel ever since the fracture!!! Jumped off a bar on Monday and been limping ever since! Not sure if it the Sever's or just this PITA old heel that will probably never be the same again. Did your DD ever fracture the heel that she has problems with??? And yes, we also put heel cups in everything, but the running and vault seem to aggrivate it the most.

Blackie6,
Hope your dd is doing ok! Good luck with her ortho appointment! We will have our fingers and toes crossed for her!