Injuries and Puberty... What is normal?

[Boatergal]

My daughter has had some twist, tweak, sprain, pain, jam, etc. every month for the past eight months now. She is getting so tired of it and feeling a bit beat down. The PT said to expect this while she is in puberty and growing until she hits 14. Does this seem like a correct assessment? Or is she not built for the sport?

Looking around the gym, it seems like the girls free from injury are prepubescent 12 and under.

 

[bookworm]

Well I think part of the reason you see less injuries of the type you describe is that the gymnasts are younger and competing at a lower level so they don't have the degree of repetition that an older gymanst at a higher level will have and their skills aren't as big. The injuries I tend to see in the younger kids in the gym are more of the fluke type injury...kid rolled her ankle on a jump etc versus the overuse type of injuries.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

it's normal and should get better.

 

[gymnast88]

Its normal, I have had many injuries in the past 2 or 3 years and I will be 14 in less than 2 months, so I know what she feels like!

 

[gymjoy]

Join the club
My dd has been suffering the same problems for most of the last year. Luckily her coaches have seen it before and don't get too put off. However, according to the mri she had on Thursday, she "possibly" has a stress fracture in her foot. Great, her first meet is next week

 

[Deleted member D3987]

now everyone repeat after me... "i....love....GYMNASTICS!

 

[gymjoy]

I do love gymnastics, and dd loves gymnastics. What I do not love, though I love my dd, is girls+puberty+gymnastics.:yikes: I just want to wrap her in bubble wrap.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

some of you need to start a post with disclaimers...i just spit all over my screen yet again. i'll have to start wearing a mask...

 

[ek2]

I do love gymnastics, and dd loves gymnastics. What I do not love, though I love my dd, is girls+puberty+gymnastics.:yikes: I just want to wrap her in bubble wrap.

ME TOO! IT seems every workout is an opportunity for a new ailment... wrist, knee, elbow... the list goes on and on...

 

[gymjoy]

some of you need to start a post with disclaimers...i just spit all over my screen yet again. i'll have to start wearing a mask...

Sorry Dunno. Hope it wasn't anything too nasty you spit all over your screen...

 

[Aussie_coach]

Yes, it does happen to a lot of girls during puberty, they are growing and their bodies are changing and they become more susceptible to injuries for a while.

Also while they are growing and going through puberty they can become tired more easily, when they are tired their concentration wanes and they are at a greater risk of injury.

Some kids are more prone to injuries than others and do tend to get them frequently, some have a body more suited to gymnastics.

Make sure you do the following -

1. If your DD gets an injury have it treated straight away. Every single long term gymnastics injury I have seen has been caused by a gymnasts being mildly injured and deciding not to worry about it, leaving it for ages and keeping on training on it and making it worse and beyond repair. Most injuries that are treated quickly also heal quickly.

2. Look for a physio or sports doctor who understands gymnastics. Doctors who don't understand the sport often recommend treatments that don't work and are more likely to reinjure the gymnast. Ask your gym for a good physio.

3. Follow the physio's instructions but if your DD is injured make sure you don't take them out of gym entirely. If a child is training 10-20 hours a week and then just stops completely for a while and then starts again she risks re injuring herself. Have her continue to train on a modified program. paying close attention to her strength and flexibility training.

4. Watch her training hours. Unless she is elite there is no need for a kid who is going through puberty to be training more than 20 hours a week. If she is not level 7-10 then she should really be doing no more than about 14 hours while she is going through puberty. The higher the hours the more likely to injure. Of course it works the other way too. Not doing enough hours can also cause injury as the kids don't have enough time to safely physically prepare their bodies for the sport. As a rough guide during puberty a compulsory gymnast should really be doing about 10-14 hours per week and an optional gymnast should be doing 16-20 hours.

5. Watch her fluid intake, not having enough water makes a kid far more susceptible to injury. She needs to be drinking lots of water, all the time and not just training days. As well as lots of water before, during and after her work outs.

6. Diet is essential. Make sure she is eating enough before work outs, and enough of the right foods. Foods with a lot of sugar, colors, flavors, preservatives and additives will actually make her sluggish during work outs. many people fall into the sugar trap, thinking they should have sugar to give them energy when they train. What actually happens is when the body takes in sugar it develops a natural chemical called insulin which breaks down the sugar. When your DD has something sugary it will produce a rush of insulin to break down the sugar, this gives a temporary high. Once the sugar is broken down the insulin is still there and it goes on to break down other important nutrients in the body too fast. This will produce less energy and lapses in concentration leading to more likely injuries.

7. Sleep. All teenagers going through puberty need more sleep than they did before but rarely do they get it. Screens like TV's computer, mobile phones and video games make it harder for the body to produce a chemical called melatonin which helps the body to relax and fall asleep. If your DD uses any of these items at night within the few hours before bed (as almost any teen does) she will have more trouble falling asleep. But will still need to be up early for school. Most teens are in fact chronically sleep deprived again making them more susceptible to injury.

8. Really pay attention to proper warm up, strength, conditioning and flexibility training. As she grows she will need more strength. They key to gymnastics is the ratio of strength to body size. If her body size increases and her strength does not it will be harder for her to perform skills. Of course she will try to do the skill just as she did it before and that can cause injury. make sure she is putting her full effort into conditioning. Keep an eye on what is happening in the classes and make sure the classes have plenty of conditioning and that the girls strength levels are tested and monitored and that their strength is individually tailored. f everyone is just doing the same strength then the coach is not doing all they can to make it safe for athletes. Perhaps ask for a strength/conditioning and injury prevention program to do at home on the days she does not train.

 

[cher062]

Well that sounds about right and Just SOOOOO NORMAL. on average at the compulsory levels and doing easier skills by the time they hit 12 - 14 many are starting to train the harder skills whild also dealing with growth issues.

Also when they hit puberty every thing starts growing and the body is changing from that little girl shape to that womanly shape which throws off the center of gravity ALOT. Some skills can be lost for a short time and have to be relearned because of a growth spurt. Add in the moodyness of that age with the hormons raging and your DD sounds about right on track. most of these little injuries from what I have seen usually do come from balance issues due to those growth spurts.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Yes, it does happen to a lot of girls during puberty, they are growing and their bodies are changing and they become more susceptible to injuries for a while.

Also while they are growing and going through puberty they can become tired more easily, when they are tired their concentration wanes and they are at a greater risk of injury.

Some kids are more prone to injuries than others and do tend to get them frequently, some have a body more suited to gymnastics.

Make sure you do the following -

1. If your DD gets an injury have it treated straight away. Every single long term gymnastics injury I have seen has been caused by a gymnasts being mildly injured and deciding not to worry about it, leaving it for ages and keeping on training on it and making it worse and beyond repair. Most injuries that are treated quickly also heal quickly.

2. Look for a physio or sports doctor who understands gymnastics. Doctors who don't understand the sport often recommend treatments that don't work and are more likely to reinjure the gymnast. Ask your gym for a good physio.

3. Follow the physio's instructions but if your DD is injured make sure you don't take them out of gym entirely. If a child is training 10-20 hours a week and then just stops completely for a while and then starts again she risks re injuring herself. Have her continue to train on a modified program. paying close attention to her strength and flexibility training.

4. Watch her training hours. Unless she is elite there is no need for a kid who is going through puberty to be training more than 20 hours a week. If she is not level 7-10 then she should really be doing no more than about 14 hours while she is going through puberty. The higher the hours the more likely to injure. Of course it works the other way too. Not doing enough hours can also cause injury as the kids don't have enough time to safely physically prepare their bodies for the sport. As a rough guide during puberty a compulsory gymnast should really be doing about 10-14 hours per week and an optional gymnast should be doing 16-20 hours.

5. Watch her fluid intake, not having enough water makes a kid far more susceptible to injury. She needs to be drinking lots of water, all the time and not just training days. As well as lots of water before, during and after her work outs.

6. Diet is essential. Make sure she is eating enough before work outs, and enough of the right foods. Foods with a lot of sugar, colors, flavors, preservatives and additives will actually make her sluggish during work outs. many people fall into the sugar trap, thinking they should have sugar to give them energy when they train. What actually happens is when the body takes in sugar it develops a natural chemical called insulin which breaks down the sugar. When your DD has something sugary it will produce a rush of insulin to break down the sugar, this gives a temporary high. Once the sugar is broken down the insulin is still there and it goes on to break down other important nutrients in the body too fast. This will produce less energy and lapses in concentration leading to more likely injuries.

7. Sleep. All teenagers going through puberty need more sleep than they did before but rarely do they get it. Screens like TV's computer, mobile phones and video games make it harder for the body to produce a chemical called melatonin which helps the body to relax and fall asleep. If your DD uses any of these items at night within the few hours before bed (as almost any teen does) she will have more trouble falling asleep. But will still need to be up early for school. Most teens are in fact chronically sleep deprived again making them more susceptible to injury.

8. Really pay attention to proper warm up, strength, conditioning and flexibility training. As she grows she will need more strength. They key to gymnastics is the ratio of strength to body size. If her body size increases and her strength does not it will be harder for her to perform skills. Of course she will try to do the skill just as she did it before and that can cause injury. make sure she is putting her full effort into conditioning. Keep an eye on what is happening in the classes and make sure the classes have plenty of conditioning and that the girls strength levels are tested and monitored and that their strength is individually tailored. f everyone is just doing the same strength then the coach is not doing all they can to make it safe for athletes. Perhaps ask for a strength/conditioning and injury prevention program to do at home on the days she does not train.

excellent post Aussiecoach.

 

[MamaofEnS]

I really appreciate the good advice. Great reminders. My DD is almost 14 1/2, but she is late going through puberty, and has had so many injuries in the past year. Ugh! Question for Aussie Coach, my DD eats applesauce before workout, which was recommended by the gym. What do you think?

 

[Kiwi]

I read somewhere that parts of the body grow at different rates during puberty, for example bones grow before muscles, so the muscle will effectively be shorter until its growth catches up. Also, it takes the brain a while to catch up with learning to control the body as it changes, which can affect coordination.