High School Thin Blue Mats And Hurting Back

[Babs]

My cp has been cheering at an all-star gym for a couple of years and has just begun practices for her first year on the HS team. She's finding that her back hurts when she tumbles on the thin blue mats. Any suggestions or advice?

Thanks!

 

[mariahnicole1216]

Just condition. Her body will get used to it.

 

[xxcheer77xx]

When I switched over from all-star to HS cheer my sophomore year, I fractured my L4 vertebra. It was a stress fracture from cheerleading, my doctor said it was specifically from repetitive impact and twisting of my spine (so tumbling?) be careful with things like this, if she complains about shooting pains down her legs thats a tell tale sign of a stress fracture in the lower vertebras.

 

[Babs]

When I switched over from all-star to HS cheer my sophomore year, I fractured my L4 vertebra. It was a stress fracture from cheerleading, my doctor said it was specifically from repetitive impact and twisting of my spine (so tumbling?) be careful with things like this, if she complains about shooting pains down her legs thats a tell tale sign of a stress fracture in the lower vertebras.

Were you able to overcome the injury? Did you stay with HS cheer?
Thanks!

 

[Mamarazzi]

Definitely agree with being careful. Thin mats offer NO support to, or cushion for, the joints. Compressing the joints repetitively can cause damage. Take her for xrays to be sure whether or not there is a fracture, and have her stop tumbling hard on the mats.

 

[xxcheer77xx]

Were you able to overcome the injury? Did you stay with HS cheer?
Thanks!

I had to do physical therapy for 6 months and its a stress fracture so theres really no way to heal it. I did all-star Junior year for separate reasons, and Im back on HS again this year for my senior year. I lost most of my tumbling after I fractured it, but now I have it all back. It was more of a mental block when I came back, not necessarily a physical limitation. I would say to strengthen her back and abdominals, and fix how she holds stunts and how she tumbles, my trainer also made me gain more flexibility in my legs and shoulders. She made me gain more flexibility because I would do minor twists and contort my back in tumbling/stunting that eventually led to the stress fracture. Thats basically what I did for physical therapy. I specifically had Spondylosis. Heres a link to a better explanation of Spondy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylosis

I went for months going from doctor to doctor and no one but my mom believed me, then finally I went to a Orthopedic specialist who took X-rays and a MRI and caught my hairline fracture in my L4 vertebra. He prescribed me some pain killers and physical therapy.

I still get pains shooting down my legs from time to time, thats mainly due to the stress fracture "pinching" nerves that get sent down my legs, and I once in a while will have some back pain, but its nothing compared to right when it was a fresh fracture.
Oh, another thing to look for is if she has two different size legs. My right leg is longer then my left which caused my pelvis to be tilted, thus making my lumbar spine more susceptible to damage.

-Sorry if I sound repetitive but I want to make sure I get all the details because I wish someone told me about this before I actually did damage.

 

[rockymountainthigh]

Our athletic trainer says that the abdominal wall is the best back brace.

 

[AllstarObsession]

I had to do physical therapy for 6 months and its a stress fracture so theres really no way to heal it. I did all-star Junior year for separate reasons, and Im back on HS again this year for my senior year. I lost most of my tumbling after I fractured it, but now I have it all back. It was more of a mental block when I came back, not necessarily a physical limitation. I would say to strengthen her back and abdominals, and fix how she holds stunts and how she tumbles, my trainer also made me gain more flexibility in my legs and shoulders. She made me gain more flexibility because I would do minor twists and contort my back in tumbling/stunting that eventually led to the stress fracture. Thats basically what I did for physical therapy. I specifically had Spondylosis. Heres a link to a better explanation of Spondy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylosis

I went for months going from doctor to doctor and no one but my mom believed me, then finally I went to a Orthopedic specialist who took X-rays and a MRI and caught my hairline fracture in my L4 vertebra. He prescribed me some pain killers and physical therapy.

I still get pains shooting down my legs from time to time, thats mainly due to the stress fracture "pinching" nerves that get sent down my legs, and I once in a while will have some back pain, but its nothing compared to right when it was a fresh fracture.
Oh, another thing to look for is if she has two different size legs. My right leg is longer then my left which caused my pelvis to be tilted, thus making my lumbar spine more susceptible to damage.

-Sorry if I sound repetitive but I want to make sure I get all the details because I wish someone told me about this before I actually did damage.

i hurt my back in a similar way. I over rotated flat onto it during warmups (its silly but it happens) at the very beginning of the summer. I trained on it all summer, but i wouldnt throw my full, a layout, and maybe if I could push through it, i could get a running tuck. I lost all my standing tumbling, too. Nobody on my team believed that I was in pain all the time. I would get those shooting pains down both of my legs, and it hurt to sit, stand, walk, lay down and it DEFINITELY hurt to tumble.
I went to a sports medicine doctor, and he took xrays. My lower back, from about the middle down, is mostly made of cartilage with some small fragments of bone. So when I landed on it, it just broke from the impact. My hips are out of alignment and my back still hurts to do certain things.

agreed though, it doesn't hurt as bad as it did last summer. i couldnt even touch my knees.

Be really really careful with injuries, specifically back injuries. This is going to affect me for the rest of my life, now. Its not something to mess around with.

 

[xxcheer77xx]

i hurt my back in a similar way. I over rotated flat onto it during warmups (its silly but it happens) at the very beginning of the summer. I trained on it all summer, but i wouldnt throw my full, a layout, and maybe if I could push through it, i could get a running tuck. I lost all my standing tumbling, too. Nobody on my team believed that I was in pain all the time. I would get those shooting pains down both of my legs, and it hurt to sit, stand, walk, lay down and it DEFINITELY hurt to tumble.
I went to a sports medicine doctor, and he took xrays. My lower back, from about the middle down, is mostly made of cartilage with some small fragments of bone. So when I landed on it, it just broke from the impact. My hips are out of alignment and my back still hurts to do certain things.

agreed though, it doesn't hurt as bad as it did last summer. i couldnt even touch my knees.

Be really really careful with injuries, specifically back injuries. This is going to affect me for the rest of my life, now. Its not something to mess around with.

I remember being in summer school the summer that I fractured it and being in immense pain just sitting down in my desk. I also remember trying a back handspring one day and completely going limp and belly flopping on the mat due to the pain. Oh, and after I healed, sorta, my BHSs became crooked. Im not sure why they did, but they were to the point that I would start in the middle of one panel and end in the middle of the panel next to it.

 

[ellie]

i had this problem 2 when i started hs cheer. Conditioning helped a lot and after a while she will become used to it and feel better.