All-Star Ankle Pain+ Worst Cheer Injuries?

[Kelli Nicole]

Sounds to me like a tendon issue....

As always, my serious injury occurred doing the easiest/at the dumbest thing... While in Germany teaching a camp no less, I was doing a toe touch, my right foot landed on the outer side of the sole of my shoe. The force of landing my jump caused my entire ankle to roll out, lots of loud cracking and immediate swelling. I went to the ER...the x-rayed for broken bones, no major breaks, but due to the swelling and all the fluid in the joint, they couldn't rule out minor fractures.

I sat out an entire season to let it heal, since I was pretty sure it was ligament damage. I competed the following season, but always under major stress and pain to the joint, I went to one ortho specialist, who deemed I still had blood/fluids in the joint and gave me medication to help with that and shot of cortisone. Immediately after nationals, I went to another specialist who ordered an MRI. Come to find out, I had torn 2 major ligaments and partially torn some minor ones and damaged the major foot bone! I was ordered off it and scheduled for surgery. Spent the remaining 2-3 months I was in Germany on crutches and was rapidly trying to get strength back into my joint since I was getting married that September and planned on wearing tall shoes. I still deal with stiffness in my ankle, I tried last summer to get back into tumbling, but the strength wasn't quite there yet. So maybe this year!

Other than that, I broke my third metacarpal bone in the hand catching a back tuck.

 

[pinkcheerb0ws]

My most serious injury was a broken jaw flying an extension lib with a substitute backspot that was a foot shorter than my normal backspot (we were a coed team and I was in one of the three stunts with guys, but one never showed up to practice that day so my 5'2" coach stepped in)

 

[vannahlexis]

I was at a tumbling clinic and for conditioning at the end we were doing jumps. I landed with my right leg straight, and my knees are hyper extended so it must have pulled something wrong. I was sore for a while and just ignored it.

A monthish later I was warming up back handsprings and my knee popped right before my hands hit the ground.

I tried to walk it off but I could feel my knee rotating out of place. It was literally the most disgusting feeling in the whole world.

The docs said I tore my MCL and it would heal without surgery but to this day it still hurts and goes out of place so I'm convinced that he was wrong lol


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[Senior5Allie]

She was doing a jump and somehow miscalculated the landing. She ended up landing straight down on her left knee. The impact is what caused the tendon to pull away.

oh wow! That is horrible. Poor girl. I can almost feel it.

 

[Mamarazzi]

I've seen some doozies. A girl who broke both wrists doing a BHS, a shattered ulna/radius combo (that was gross,) my own broken elbow, my kids' injuries this season- torn Achilles, torn UCL, fractured L5 vertebra...
War stories, y'all. We're turning into old people.

 

[BigBow]

I showed a girl on the J1 team that I coach how to do a roundoff yesterday. I pulled my entire hamstring. I'm officially retired.

 

[lovecheering]

My CP has an avulsion pelvic fracture. It's where the tendon attached to the pelvis pulls away & takes a piece of the bone with it. It just happened this weekend & she is now on crutches.

My CP was just diagnosed with this too!! In fact she has it on both sides. One on the right side is an old one (it has hurt since this time last year) that is still trying to heal and the one on the left side is a fresh one. She was to do no activity for 4 weeks so the healing process could start. She went back to doctor and they did some certain stretches with her (they didn't want to x-ray in that area again) and it was feeling fine. They released her to get back in gradually and the first body position she pulled in the air was painful once again. They said it would never completely heal until she is done growing and the growth plates close. So ..... now she is just "dealing" with the pain the best she can. It's either that or take the entire year or more off. She has crazy flexible body positions, but the doctor said that having flexible joints does mean your muscles are stretched out. Two different things. So my message to all parents with young flyers, make sure they continue to always stretch well before pulling any body positions.

 

[Cinn124]

My CP was just diagnosed with this too!! In fact she has it on both sides. One on the right side is an old one (it has hurt since this time last year) that is still trying to heal and the one on the left side is a fresh one. She was to do no activity for 4 weeks so the healing process could start. She went back to doctor and they did some certain stretches with her (they didn't want to x-ray in that area again) and it was feeling fine. They released her to get back in gradually and the first body position she pulled in the air was painful once again. They said it would never completely heal until she is done growing and the growth plates close. So ..... now she is just "dealing" with the pain the best she can. It's either that or take the entire year or more off. She has crazy flexible body positions, but the doctor said that having flexible joints does mean your muscles are stretched out. Two different things. So my message to all parents with young flyers, make sure they continue to always stretch well before pulling any body positions.

Wow I can't imagine both sides! I wish her luck on her recovery.

 

[cheermuse]

My CP has had many sprains to her Ankle over an over again. Finally got that tendon strong and then she broke her wrist. Took 2-1/2 season for it to stop bothering her. Think after it healed she had issues due to overuse.

Our new body breakdown is Hip Displasia (no tumbling or jumping until further notice) UUUGH! She is now in PT twice a week.

 

[sarahh_cheers]

part 2: i've had a few injuries in cheer but only 2 of them were pretty bad. i was working front tucks and tore a ligament in my ankle when it twisted under me. and last week i was doing front handsprings and ended up with a stress fracture in the metatarsals in my foot.

 

[TraumaRNcheermom]

My CP broke her tib/fib at the end of last season 3 weeks before we were to travel to Paris! We cxl'd the trip because we didnt want her trying to get around on crutches. She then broke her toe on the other foot a few weeks after that, making her wheelchair bound and setting her tumbling way back. It was a long road to recovery and major fear when she hit the mats again.

 

[TraumaRNcheermom]

My CP has had many sprains to her Ankle over an over again. Finally got that tendon strong and then she broke her wrist. Took 2-1/2 season for it to stop bothering her. Think after it healed she had issues due to overuse.

Our new body breakdown is Hip Displasia (no tumbling or jumping until further notice) UUUGH! She is now in PT twice a week.

Ohhh hip displasia is bad, please make her rest as hard as it may be and as much as it may break her heart...it will only get worse and lead to mega pain in the future if she doesn't let it rest.

 

[MissCongeniality]

After my daughter was diagnosed with stress fractures in her spine last year, she was sent to a new PT for treatment. Day 1 he had her list her previous injuries... As he wrote each one down, I wanted to slink away and hide. I know she loves this sport, but seriously, with so many years to live post cheer, what impact are all these injuries going to have? Oh and, when she went back to tumble after taking months off (months!) for her spine to heal, she felt so good she threw a whip combo pass (day 1 back.. bad choice) and took out her ankle (again). She had to have reconstructive surgery and now has a pin.

 

[CheerBank]

After my daughter was diagnosed with stress fractures in her spine last year, she was sent to a new PT for treatment. Day 1 he had her list her previous injuries... As he wrote each one down, I wanted to slink away and hide. I know she loves this sport, but seriously, with so many years to live post cheer, what impact are all these injuries going to have? Oh and, when she went back to tumble after taking months off (months!) for her spine to heal, she felt so good she threw a whip combo pass (day 1 back.. bad choice) and took out her ankle (again). She had to have reconstructive surgery and now has a pin.

I watched a video the other day that someone had posted on Facebook of a kid from cp's old gym who had major back surgery this past spring. It was of her tumbling and getting spotted for her ro-bt. I seriously cringed when her feet hit the mat thinking about the impact it would have on her back and almost unfollowed the person who posted it so I would never have to see any videos of this again, that is how much it upset me.
Although it was sad for me when my oldest did not even wish to think about returning to cheer after ankle surgery (and she wound up having two separate surgeries) I was actually relieved because that meant that there was no chance she would reinjure it in cheer.

 

[OnceUponACheerleader]

My daughter landed short when attempting a whip at tumbling Thursday. She walks, etc just fine, but now any kind of tumbling or jumping makes the fronts of her ankles hurt a lot. Anyone else have this issue? What did you do?


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I'm experiencing this right now and it is the most gruelling pain. If it starts I won't be able to tumble for the rest of the evening. Let alone walk.
I went to physio and she said I have a pinched joint capsule and it is common in gymnasts and cheerleaders due to constant jamming of the ankles. She also said it should alleviate some pain with treatment but mine are so bad were still working on it. I've tried every remedy and nothing is really working. Ice, heat, physio, ankle conditioning etc. tried acupuncture last week and it seems to be improving but still not nearly good enough for me to tumble!! It's such an odd injury. Best of luck to your daughter. I know her pain

Eta: I also have fractures that went un diagnosed in my ankle and cartilage damage. I think this is telling me I'm getting too old to tumble .. *sigh*

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