All-Star Listen To The Pain!

[mecheermom]

I swear I'm not picking on you, but the bolded part is exactly what I'm talking about. She would have been safest not competing at all! Potential permanent injury is not worth a trophy. I'm glad it worked out, but know that repeated impact on an injured body part can cause serious damage.

And honestly my friends CP did not find out about the damage until years later. It may not seem like a big deal now but the long term effects are unknown.

I wonder how much more things like this will occur now that kids are not allowed to compete with boots on ?

 

[purplecheer]

I have been guilty of competing with a pulled back of thigh muscle (hamstring?). I did too many round offs and the constant snapping it over pulled it. I was trying to perfect my round off over summer but I couldn't train it before comps. My main reason for competing was I didn't want to let my team down and I thought I could do it just this once. In hindsight it was probably a bad decision, although I have recovered fine now. I am only a level one though, so I didn't have to do any other high impact tumbling.

 

[Official OWECheer]

I was just going to post this in the parent's forum but feel that everyone needs to see this. Quick story: A very talented, very young (under 12) girl has been driven hard by mom to get better, tumble more, be the best since she was about 8. This girl has been on multiple teams for at least the last 3 years and tumbling 2-3 times a week, plus conditioning with a personal trainer 1-2 times a week. About a year ago, she started complaining of back and hip pain. The family's motto is "no blood, no broken bones, get back out there." Long story shortened...she landed wrong on some tumbling and couldn't get up. Went to many doctors and they discovered that a couple of vertebras were rubbing together. This poor thing isn't allowed to stand for more than 10 minutes at a time and is out of all activities for at least 3 months. Who knows how she'll recover or what she will be able to do? The saddest thing is that this could have been prevented if an adult listened to her complaints a year ago. Parents and coaches, please listen to complaints of pain. Athletes, please listen to your body. Think about what we are trying to accomplish by always pushing for more, harder, longer. Is it really worth it? Cheer lasts for a few years. Your body needs to last a lot longer.

When my daughter was 11 she was still a flyer, but that year she grew a little bit and we had the arrival of several younger, smaller flyers at our gym. CP was having back and hip pain while doing BWO and needles. Long story short, after going to Drs, a chiropractor and a PT she was told that she needed to accept that her lower back was losing flexibility (too long of a story to go into) and that pulling body positions as a flyer was probably not in her future. She was devastated and I was sad for her, too, but after being disappointed for a bit she threw her whole self into basing and now she is a bad-booty base and loving it. I know that there are moms in my gym who would have continued to push their daughter instead of helping her to accept the disappointment and redirect her energy. I'm sure there were parents who thought I was letting her be a quitter but that wasn't it, because the pain was real and not worth it! We are their parents and it is are job to protect them, not make them "stars"! It is more important to me that my daughter be able to walk and be a functional member of society than to be point flyer and a Cheerlebrity.

A cheerleader I know about 4 years ago was asked by a coach at warmups to take her boot off a week earlier than she was supposed to and throw her tumbling pass at a competition. Fast forward to this season and she is in a boot-- same ankle has been bothering her off and on. The orthopedic said its due to an old break that never healed correctly. The only fix is surgery.

For now she can do palliative care and wear a boot and do PT when it flares up. So...she has to hope it won't flare during worlds or nationals season. Hopefully they can get the surgery done over the summer.

Coaches need to follow doctors orders. The kid was 10-11 when it happened and this particular coach is intimidating. When a parent is sitting in the audience and sees their kid who went back to warmups in a boot tumbling on the mat they are helpless.

The cheerleader is no longer with the gym where this situation occurred.

Would it be okay with you guys if I used these and some others in a video? I won't mention your usernames.

 

[dawgshow]

Absolutely @Official OWECheer

 

[Official OWECheer]

Absolutely @Official OWECheer

Thanks. I already have one up on this topic, but I feel the need to make a second one because CLEARLY the point of taking a rest is lost on a lot of people.

 

[mecheermom]

Thanks. I already have one up on this topic, but I feel the need to make a second one because CLEARLY the point of taking a rest is lost on a lot of people.

You can use mine as well.

 

[Keep_Believing]

At times I struggle with knowing what the right thing to do is. My CP had a concussion back in Dec. She followed Doctors instructions, took a break, & only returned after she was cleared by the Doctor, but now I freak out when she hits her head or gets a headache. I never want to allow her to jeopardize her health. I also don't want to smother her and be a helicopter parent. There will always be an inherent risk involved in All Star Cheer. I always pray I am doing the right thing for all 3 of my kids.

 

[cupieqt]

At times I struggle with knowing what the right thing to do is. My CP had a concussion back in Dec. She followed Doctors instructions, took a break, & only returned after she was cleared by the Doctor, but now I freak out when she hits her head or gets a headache. I never want to allow her to jeopardize her health. I also don't want to smoother her and be a helicopter parent. There will always be an inherent risk involved in All Star Cheer. I always pray I am doing the right thing for all 3 of my kids.

I think it's best to always err on the side of caution. And once you've had a concussion, you're more likely to get another so you're smart to be wary. Trust your gut. I think intuition is our best tool when dealing with things like this. At least until X-ray vision is invented and we can assess things on the spot!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kristenthegreat]

A girl I went to HS with was an EXCEPTIONAL basketball player who got one too many concussions and now has to give up the sport permanently or risk more severe brain damage (you know, than she's already had). Heck- the GM at my restaurant did all the wrong things while having a triple concussion (including consuming alcohol) and now has to go to COGNITIVE THERAPY because her brain can't handle some stuff. Lucky her, she's a salaried employee and got hurt on the job, but she's not allowed to come back until Jan 1st because of her limited abilities.

So yeah. Nobody wants to spend hours a week having to re-train their brain. No bueno.

 

[MOPSMommy1]

Of course, @Official OWECheer

 

[lifeoftheparty]

That's awful. I admit to pushing CP too much when she was younger and have since backed off tremendously. From what I see with our new Large gym they are very safe. My CP was made to sit out recently, even though she told the coach she felt fine. I respect that. CP is 10 and aims to please. Her coach wasn't taking any chances and made her sit out.

 

[CheerBank]

At times I struggle with knowing what the right thing to do is. My CP had a concussion back in Dec. She followed Doctors instructions, took a break, & only returned after she was cleared by the Doctor, but now I freak out when she hits her head or gets a headache. I never want to allow her to jeopardize her health. I also don't want to smother her and be a helicopter parent. There will always be an inherent risk involved in All Star Cheer. I always pray I am doing the right thing for all 3 of my kids.

I honestly do not know if I would let cp return to cheer if she had a concussion. Dh and I have said the same thing about non-cp if he ever got one playing football or soccer, so why not hold that to cheer as well? I know we can't bubble wrap them, but concussions to me are the scariest of all injuries.

 

[cheermomforever]

I honestly do not know if I would let cp return to cheer if she had a concussion. Dh and I have said the same thing about non-cp if he ever got one playing football or soccer, so why not hold that to cheer as well? I know we can't bubble wrap them, but concussions to me are the scariest of all injuries.

I agree, eventually cheer will b gone, but u will always need your brain. I think we had every single injury thru out cheer years except concussion.

 

[Keep_Believing]

My friend's daughter had never had a previous injury. She collided with another athlete in a tumbling pass. She got a very severe concussion. She can never cheer again, which is the least of her worries. Now more than a year later she still struggles with her memory, ability to concentrate, and severe headaches. She went from being a strait A student to having to be home schooled. That is from one concussion.

 

[123jump4!]

My friend's daughter had never had a previous injury. She collided with another athlete in a tumbling pass. She got a very severe concussion. She can never cheer again, which is the least of her worries. Now more than a year later she still struggles with her memory, ability to concentrate, and severe headaches. She went from being a strait A student to having to be home schooled. That is from one concussion.

Oh that's awful. What's the prognosis? Do they expect her to get better eventually or they don't really know...?

Also point taken that it can happen badly without previous injury.