MAG TFCC Tear recovery

[munchkin3]

Hi!
So DS had his long arm cast removed Monday. His first impression is that the cast did not do a thing and everything hurt the same! You can imagine what the doctor said....'it will take TIME'.
An injury created over many months will not get better in 1 month.....

FRUSTRATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So DS went to practice and is following the Dr. orders....
No weight bearing
No apparatus
No rotating his wrist
No, No, No

Only stretching of the hand and therabands above the wrist (on forearm) core, and tumbling WITHOUT hands on tumble track. Of course all if this with taped wrist and tiger paw.

Can anyone give me their experiences of re-integrating after injuries? How long does it take to get that CAST stiffness better, is it normal to have pain with this?


At least he is happy going back to regular practice with his buds....I hope he can last through this!

 

[skschlag]

I don't have a lot of experiences with my own son, but have seen girls reintegrate. It takes time. I know one girl who has been no weight bearing, swinging, tumbling, etc for about 4 months. She does leaps, tucks, and jumps alot!!! She has great leaps now. Doesn't help much with the boys. I think just listening to the doc, listening to his body, will be the keys! Did the doc give a list of what he CAN do? Is he in physical therapy? maybe the therapist can give ideas?

Good luck! Hope it gets better fast!

 

[J&A's mom]

I have no experience, but just takes time. Coach should be able to give him stuff he can do.

 

[profmom]

First and absolutely foremost, take good care of yourself! Providing emotional support and empathy for a grumpy, surly, recovering gymnast is no bed of roses. In some ways, it's worse when the cast/splint/brace/whatever comes off, because the kid has been so eagerly anticipating that medical milestone -- and then has to process the reality that a long road of recovery still lies ahead.

Is he in physical therapy? That was a critical piece of DD's recovery from a broken arm, both to help regain mobility and because she got a lot of exercises from her therapist that she could do at the gym during her practice time. The exercises didn't have anything to do with gym, but they did help her to feel much more empowered and engaged, and helped her to own the recovery process.

At first when her splint came off and the pins came out of her arm, she was super frustrated because the elbow was mostly frozen. She was terrified that full mobility would never come back. But it does! It will! And faster than you can possibly believe! Just encourage him to keep doing those exercises.

As for being at the gym, even without an arm, he can do lots of things that will be very useful. What boy doesn't need more work on splits and shoulder flexibility? By the time my DD was cleared for tumbling again, she could do about a five-minute wall sit, alternating now and then with having one leg straight out in front of her. She also had one heck of a mean one-arm plank. Hollow rocks, core stuff -- again, who doesn't need more core strength?

The most important message for DD was this. Your gymnastics skills aren't in your arm. They are in your head. They will still be right there, in your head, after you have recovered fully. You'll just need to remind your body of what to do. She broke her arm near the end of her second competitive season at L5. The next fall, she was a L6.

Good luck to your son, keep the ice and ibuprofen on hand, and encourage him to take it slow and steady.

 

[munchkin3]

Thank you so much profmom.....hearing these stories makes ME feel better and gives me better words of wisdom for my DS.
There is success after injury!