Does anyone have any experience in how scoliosis can affect tumbling?
My daughter is 15 and has been tumbling for all-star cheer for 6 years. This past summer she was diagnosed with Scoliosis but she was nearly finished growing so it was too late to put her in a brace. She has 32 degrees curvature in the top of her spine and 32 degrees in her lower spine. When she saw an orthopedic surgeon in August she was not having any back pain and he cleared her to continue tumbling. However everything has changed since then. Her back hurts her all the time except during running tumbling (I know, I don't get it either). And yes, she has another appointment soon with the Orthopedic Surgeon to verify if the scoliosis has gotten worse (although she's terrified that he might tell her to stop cheering or suggest surgery). For me, the future of her back is way more important than her love of cheer.
The problem right now is that recently she is unable to fall back into a back bridge.
I talked to a parent whose adult daughter had been diagnosed with scoliosis while she was a competitive gymnast - she explained that scoliosis prevented her daughter from doing back walkovers because she could no longer put her back in a 'short arch', whereas in back handsprings the back is in a 'long arch' so that wasn't a problem for her. Since I have no experience with this and our gym owner has never heard of such a thing - I thought I'd put it out there to see if anyone can comment on it. I really need to resolve this quickly as her tumbling coach decided the arch in her back could be improved by putting her in a handstand, holding her feet and pushing an arch in her back with a foot (and yes, I know how bad this was).
I have scoliosis and my whole left side of my body is higher than my right. Mostly in my hips and shoulders. I tumble crooked because of this. I used to take physical therapy but it didn't help much. I've gotten it checked out a couple times and they said that if i continue to grow it might get worse, but I'll be fine if i don't grow much.
With scoliosis, it's pretty simple - she can do whatever she's able to do WITHOUT PAIN. So if tight bridges/arches are causing her pain, she needs to avoid them. But if her running tumbling (during which she is much less arched through the back) isn't bothering her, then it's okay for her to do it. Particularly if she's been cleared by the doctor - she's really not going to do any further damage, it's just that her pain *may* increase (she'll either have pain with things she didn't before, or the intensity of the pain may increase, or both). And make it clear to her coaches they should NOT do anything to force the arch in her back. The thought that you can improve the arch in a scoliotic back is ridiculous.
It's going to be hard for her to restrict herself but she needs to, at least until she sees the orthopedist. Her back is going to be her back for the rest of her life. It's easy to overlook this when you are 15, but when you are 20, 25, 30, etc and your back hurts you every day of your life, it's not pretty.
So for now, she should be fine doing ONLY what is comfortable for her until you guys can get a better opinion from the orthopedist. But please let us know what they say and what they advise for her, simply because I'm curious.
Thank you so much for your input and replies. Both were very helpful. I will let you know what the Orthopedist tells us on her next appointment (later this month).
I'm not sure why, but she still tumbles straight - so I guess we should be thankful for that. She also has the dropped shoulder and higher hip (which bugs her).
As The Trainer pointed out, her pain (now and in the future) is my biggest concern.
i have scoliosis science i was 6 or 7 andi have cheered science then when i would see my doctor what hurts your back when u do it??? the one and only thing that put me in such excruciating pain was back bends or back walkovers my coaches thought that i jst couldnt do themand i was jst using my back a a way out of having to learn them so finally i asked my doctor to write me a note heres how it read perscription- no back bends or back walkovers what so ever
duration- FOREVER when i gave it to my coach he laughed well jst thought i would share my story thats all 4 now
I have a daughter who is going through the same thing. She is almost done growing and has a 40 & 36 deg curvature in her spine. The dr said no problem with cheer and tumbling and in the beginning she had no problem. Now, 7 months later, she is in pain when she comes home--she says the same thing about standing tumbling versus running (has no problem with running). Even stunting is starting to bother her back (she is a base). I know your post is from 2006, so I'm hoping you check this. I would love to know your opinion. My gut tells me this is wrong for her to do, but her orthopedic dr says it is ok. I don't want her having huge problems as she gets older (she's 12 now) and am not sure if I should pull her out of cheer for the year. Last night she came home in tears after 2 hours of tumbling and I feel like this is doing long-term damage. Maybe you have some advice? I'm worried about her.
Hi, Coming from a 35 year old......... I had scoliosis when I was a gymnast and cheered in high school and college. I went to the Dr. & chiropractor multiple times for it. The majority of the time my back hurt. It was mostly the muscle that the curve was pushing out. I was never able to pulll scorpions that well or do bridges, but I could tumble & stunt great and it didnt bother me at that moment, just when I would get up in the morning I was stiff. My Dr. at the time told me that I could either quit what I was doing or continue and live with the pain. Of course I lived with the pain and eventually when I quit, it got better. The chiropractor at the time massaged the muscles down the spine and it seemed to make it better. The muscles are what seemed to bother me and of course I couldnt bend that well ever. To this day my back still hurts, but I think that any athlete who is heavy into sports eventually will have all sorts of body problems. My Dad was a state champion wrestler and wrestled for the USA and has had so many aches & surgeries we lost count. Your body will take a toll later in life, but I wouldnt change it for the world with the experience I had as a child and teen.
this is off subject but i am so glad there is a place where people can come and talk about real issues and know that they are not alone...I wish all of you best of luck
