Does Training Through Pain Send Wrong Message To Kids?

In a physically-demanding sport like gymnastics, suffering from injuries, whether it’s a mild or a serious one, is just a common occurrence for the athletes. Usually, if we are injured or experiencing an unusual kind of pain, we do stop our normal activities and rest so that our bodies can have time to recover. However, this is not the case for the professional athletes.

For the elite gymnasts, performing even amidst of pain is just a normal part of their athletic journey. Most of them continue their training and even participate in competitions while suffering from damaged or dislocated bones, torn muscles and other kinds of injuries. Experts are wondering how these things affect the mentality of the young athletes.

There has been a huge growth in the number of gymnastics participants in the U.S. ever since the American gymnastics team Fierce Five made their way to the podium in the 2012 Summer Olympics. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, there has been an 18 percent increase in the number of participants of the sport since 2009. However, parents should be aware of the risks that are associated in a sport that requires young children, before they even reach the age of ten, to perform 10-15 hours of training per week in the entire year.

“It's an amazing sport but it's also a demanding one," the owner of NYC Elite, Tina Ferriola stated. “Just like any other competitive sport, it can be injury-prone” she continued.

Risk of injury

According to a report that was published by the Center for Injury Research and Policy in Columbus, out of 3 million children participating in gymnastics, around 25,000 of them are treated in U.S emergency rooms every year due to injuries related to their involvement in the sport. That’s comparable with the injury rates from sports that require physical contact such as lacrosse and hockey.

Shoulder pain, wrist injury, and other pain associated with the upper body are the most commonly reported gymnastics-related injuries. Lower body injuries such as ankle, knee and spine injuries are also common. Some of these injuries are an unavoidable result of overuse. Some of them are caused by improper landing and other mistakes while performing a routine or a stunt.

Around 40 percent of these injuries happen inside the gym, and another 40 percent takes place during the school recreation programs. However, for emerging gymnasts that are aged 6-11 years old, sending them to a gymnastics school proved to be more beneficial in preventing further harm – as kids in this age group is more likely to be injured at home while they’re playing around and jumping off tables and bouncing on couches without the proper matting, equipment and supervision.

"When gymnastics is done properly, it looks daring but the athletes have actually been taught the basics of how to move their bodies safely," said Randy Nebel, a gymnastics coach at NYC Elite "A program where there's proper spotting and coaching undoubtedly saves a lot of kids from getting hurt."

The president of the National Athletic Trainers Association, Jim Thornton agreed, and he added that it is also critical for coaches to give more emphasis on balance and flexibility training, and give importance on overall conditioning."They might be sore after a workout and that's OK but they should never workout with pain that doesn't resolve within a few days," he stated.

He also said that parents should keep an eye out for coaches who are pushing kids too hard. "If a coach is telling your child to ignore the pain and keep going, that's a red flag," he said.

Pushy Parents

However, there are times where it’s the parents’ strong desire for success that leads their child at risk. Believing that their child might be the next gymnastics sensation, they encourage their young children to push themselves beyond their capabilities.

Rhonda Dixon, the owner of Excel Gymnastics, remembered a parent that wanted her child to move up the competitive ranks although her coaches think that the child wasn’t ready yet. "She had a terrible season. She was scared of the skills and cried a lot during practices. Meanwhile her mom was on the sidelines asking her why she couldn't do what the other girls were doing." Thankfully, not all parents are like that. However, when parents get out of hand, the Excel Gymnastics owner said that it’s the responsibility of the coach to remind these parents that safety is more important especially for kids that are that young.

As for the message that the elite gymnasts sends to emerging gymnasts, believing that training while injured is not only okay – its expected – they are not seeing the whole picture, and therefore must erase this kind of mindset.According to Nastia Lukin, an Olympic individual all-around champion, even the elite gymnasts take a break if the injury is serious enough and might cause long term damage.

"I've dealt with aches and pains and you certainly put them out of your mind during competition if they're not severe but it's so important to communicate to your coaches, your parents and your medical staff," she said. "If it's spotted early it can be taken care of. If it's really bad, you don't want to make it worse."

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