WAG Injury Question

[agymmom]

If your dc hurts themselves during gym, how do you know when it's time to see a doctor versus waiting it out? DD hurt her knee. She was crying after it happened and after waiting about 45 minutes, left gym early, clearly limping. She is still limping today. I don't know whether to immediately make an appointment with a doc or to give it time.

I suspect that even if she see a doc, the answer is going to be "give it time" so I guess that's why I'm not even sure it's worth seeing a doc. (And it's possible I won't be able to get an appointment for days anyway.)

 

[magymmom]

I have always been told by our doc that if the child is limping then it should be checked if no limp then ice, ibuprofen and wait it out. I would get her checked or at least give doc a call to get their opinion.

 

[shelovestoflip]

How old is she and has she ever had an injury? My daughter is 13 and knows her pain. She would know if something was 'regular' pain or a real pain!

That being said, because she's had 2 injuries, I am definitely the mom who calls the dr ASAP if it's a 'real' pain! I would def see your primary care dr....wouldn't they see her today? We are lucky that we can get in the day of for an emergency. She could xray if necessary and then we could go from there. I would also make an appt with the ortho, which for us would take a few days.

Anyway, of course short term, I'd do advil/ice. But personally, I'd do the dr now instead of waiting. Good luck!

 

[Mom2twingymnasts]

I was going to ask a very similar question. My DD hit her head/back of neck on highbar last night doing a double back dismount. Her short term memory was clearly impacted as she kept repeating the same comments and questions, didn't know what day it was, and didn't remember going to the Orthodontist right before practice. I took her too ER where they X-rayed her neck and did a cat scan. Both were clear. Obviously she has a concussion so direction was to just watch her and if head starts hurting worse or she starts throwing up to bring her back. Also, take her to her regular Dr. to get cleared for activity.
DD's coach suggested we watch her and if she starts throwing up then take her to ER. I ignored that and went right to ER.

So did I needlessly expose my DD to radiation just because I was nervous? Should I have waited it out the night? For head injury, I really don't think I can do that. I think for limbs I would wait it out a bit if no swelling and able to walk. Would love to hear what others think.

 

[Gymdad2]

When in doubt, best to be safe. Call the doc.

 

[agymmom]

DD is 8 and this is her first gym injury (no minor ones even). Unfortunately, I can't get a straight answer out of her about how it feels.

 

[shelovestoflip]

I was going to ask a very similar question. My DD hit her head/back of neck on highbar last night doing a double back dismount. Her short term memory was clearly impacted as she kept repeating the same comments and questions, didn't know what day it was, and didn't remember going to the Orthodontist right before practice. I took her too ER where they X-rayed her neck and did a cat scan. Both were clear. Obviously she has a concussion so direction was to just watch her and if head starts hurting worse or she starts throwing up to bring her back. Also, take her to her regular Dr. to get cleared for activity.
DD's coach suggested we watch her and if she starts throwing up then take her to ER. I ignored that and went right to ER.

So did I needlessly expose my DD to radiation just because I was nervous? Should I have waited it out the night? For head injury, I really don't think I can do that. I think for limbs I would wait it out a bit if no swelling and able to walk. Would love to hear what others think.

I'd do just what you did! As for the unnecessary ratiation, I guess we all do what makes us comfortable. My daughter has had many xrays over the years and my feeling is I trust and respect both her pediatrican as well as her orthopedist. I have to trust that they will make the right choice when it comes to xrays etc. If I didn't trust them, I"d find a new doctor.

As for a concussion, I've had a few friends whose children have had concussions. Nothing to fool around with and I think you made the right choice. Make sure they give you guidance on concussion recovery. Typically they can't just jump back in and go to school the next day.

Where we live, there is now a law and schools have all children participating in school sports do a baseline questionnaire. It's a good idea so they have that info if something were to happen.

 

[sglemon]

I agree with the previous poster about when in doubt. For me, if there is obvious swelling, discoloration, etc... I will take them in. For more generalized or unspecific pain, I would wait it out. It is starts getting worst, then we will go in. When you tweek a knee or ankle, etc.. there will always be some pain. I would treat with Motrin and ice. If the pain is intolorable, I would take her in.

This is just what I would do and is no way giving you advice. Your best advice would come from her doctor.

 

[gardenia01]

I agree with sglemon, if there is no swelling and she is able to walk on it I would ice and give motrin and wait a couple of days. Have her avoid anything that makes it hurt. If not better in a day or two, then take her in. My dd hyper-extended her knee this summer and had pain and was limping - but had no swelling - for a day or so. The limp disappeared quickly and though she still had pain when doing certain activities it clearly kept improving. I put her in a knee brace and she went to practice to do what she could do that didn't cause pain (no vaulting or tumbling). Within a week she was completely better.

 

[bogwoppit]

I was going to ask a very similar question. My DD hit her head/back of neck on highbar last night doing a double back dismount. Her short term memory was clearly impacted as she kept repeating the same comments and questions, didn't know what day it was, and didn't remember going to the Orthodontist right before practice. I took her too ER where they X-rayed her neck and did a cat scan. Both were clear. Obviously she has a concussion so direction was to just watch her and if head starts hurting worse or she starts throwing up to bring her back. Also, take her to her regular Dr. to get cleared for activity.
DD's coach suggested we watch her and if she starts throwing up then take her to ER. I ignored that and went right to ER.

So did I needlessly expose my DD to radiation just because I was nervous? Should I have waited it out the night? For head injury, I really don't think I can do that. I think for limbs I would wait it out a bit if no swelling and able to walk. Would love to hear what others think.

You totally did the right thing. Head and neck injuries are never to be ignored, plus with the short term memory issue. Glad she is okay, though a concussion is a serious problem.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Would definitely bring to ER a child who hit their head and is having memory loss! There is not question there.

Other injuries? I tend to wait and see--if there isn't a lot of swelling or something obviously wrong. For me limping isn't a reason to go in, but that's just me--I would think any pain will cause limping to some extent (or maybe I'm just a wimp myself LOL!). To the original poster--if the pain is the same as last night--not getting better, then I'd call and bring her in. No harm (other than the co-pay) in getting it checked out. If pain is getting better, I'd ice and wait and see.

 

[wallinbl]

I tend to wait and see--if there isn't a lot of swelling or something obviously wrong. For me limping isn't a reason to go in, but that's just me--I would think any pain will cause limping to some extent (or maybe I'm just a wimp myself LOL!). To the original poster--if the pain is the same as last night--not getting better, then I'd call and bring her in. No harm (other than the co-pay) in getting it checked out. If pain is getting better, I'd ice and wait and see.

Just wanted to point out that there are areas of the knee that don't get a lot of blood flow, and you won't necessarily see swelling with some injuries there, even injuries that require surgery.

If your insurance allows, skip the GP and call a sports medicine or ortho doctor to get an appointment. Odds are, they're not seeing you today or tomorrow anyway, so you'll have some time to see if it gets better on its own.

 

[gymgal]

I was going to ask a very similar question. My DD hit her head/back of neck on highbar last night doing a double back dismount. Her short term memory was clearly impacted.

You definitely made the right choice. Any type of head injury with neurological signs needs immediate examination. Surprised the coaches didn't err on the cautious side on this one.

As for he OP, I would set up an appt with an ortho. It will take you a couple days and you can cancel it if she's better by then. I dont know if you have this near you but around here, we have ortho urgent care clinics, which are great because we don't have to wait if we think dd needs to be seen right away. And we just bypass the primary care at this point because they always send us to ortho anyway.

 

[gasrgoose]

DD is 8 and this is her first gym injury (no minor ones even). Unfortunately, I can't get a straight answer out of her about how it feels.

I'd take her to the doc. They are tougher than you think and if she's limping it could something that would be made worse by using it. We've had kids that age break toes, bones in feet and even a knee cap. They would have continued to practice if the doc hadn't had told them to stop.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

If your dc hurts themselves during gym, how do you know when it's time to see a doctor versus waiting it out? DD hurt her knee. She was crying after it happened and after waiting about 45 minutes, left gym early, clearly limping. She is still limping today. I don't know whether to immediately make an appointment with a doc or to give it time.

I suspect that even if she see a doc, the answer is going to be "give it time" so I guess that's why I'm not even sure it's worth seeing a doc. (And it's possible I won't be able to get an appointment for days anyway.)

what was she doing, on what event and what kind of mat did she land on?

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I was going to ask a very similar question. My DD hit her head/back of neck on highbar last night doing a double back dismount. Her short term memory was clearly impacted as she kept repeating the same comments and questions, didn't know what day it was, and didn't remember going to the Orthodontist right before practice. I took her too ER where they X-rayed her neck and did a cat scan. Both were clear. Obviously she has a concussion so direction was to just watch her and if head starts hurting worse or she starts throwing up to bring her back. Also, take her to her regular Dr. to get cleared for activity.
DD's coach suggested we watch her and if she starts throwing up then take her to ER. I ignored that and went right to ER.

So did I needlessly expose my DD to radiation just because I was nervous? Should I have waited it out the night? For head injury, I really don't think I can do that. I think for limbs I would wait it out a bit if no swelling and able to walk. Would love to hear what others think.

well, the coach is correct IF no short/long term memory is affected. otherwise, short/long term memory being compromised means possible concussion and that MUST be checked. you did the right thing.

and the radiation exposure is not near as much as the public has been lead to believe by groups and organizations that are not qualified/credible. so much out there that is not true.

 

[agymmom]

She was getting off the tramp (the competition rectangle kind) and another kid got on before she was off and bounced her. She lost her balance and went down funny.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

okay. 1st rule of trampolining is no more than 1 person at a time...even when entering and exiting the trampoline. so then, your daughter was double bounced or "kipped". you now NEED to take her for an xray. in that age group, 4-10 year olds, the most common injury such as this is to the tibial head. usually, and if the double bounce caused enough reverberation from 1 to another, they shear their tibial head off the bone completely. her knee was hyperextended when she was double bounced and at that precise moment the other girl's weight/force gets transferred in to your daughter's knee. so then, please go today to rule out that she did not fracture the tibial head. your daughter's age group is cartilaginous and bones don't break the same way as someone who is 13. she could walk around with that limp for awhile and while the tibial head is fractured. okay? today??

by the way, the older kids call this "pinging" their knee in case you've ever heard it said by your kids.

 

[agymmom]

Appointment is made for early tomorrow. Crossing my fingers they just say to rest it.

 

[gymgurl]

Being 18 I have had my fair share of injuries some more serious than others and have learnt the art of determining when an injury is worthy of a doctors visit (only I go straight to physio rather than doctor - less appointments, less money and the only advice from doctors I ever got was keep off it). One of my biggest clues for me is if I hear a pop or a crack I get a physio appointment asap. If there is a loss of movement (when i did my shoulder recently the first minute and a bit my arm was just dead weight) or obvious swelling I generally go to see a physio. Head and neck go straight to see someone - probably doctor/emergency for that though.

As for pain subsiding - I don't think this is necessarily the best indication to not see anyone, as when I subluxed my shoulder there was an absurd amount of pain for the first 5 minutes and then it started to ease and it was just an ache. The next day pain while shoulder was in normal position was almost nil. However, it still felt unstable so I made a physio appointment and turns out my injury is actually serious and I have done tendon damage. Pain isn't always the best indicator. Another example of this is my friend hurt her knee rowing so got an MRI and it showed a torn ACL. However, the twist is, it was an old tear that happened years ago and she had no clue she had torn it. Apparently a small percentage of people who tear their ACL don't feel pain.

to me instability is a bigger indication. I have had injuries where pain has subsided but instability remains and I have gone to see someone and it actually was an injury worth looking at.