For the Health of It: Treatment for gymnastic injuries

Tyler Ryan and Hima Dalal discuss common injuries and treatments for gymnastics related afflictions

LEXINGTON SC (WOLO) – Gymnastics, dancing, and even wrestling continues to be popular sports for boys and girls, as an alternative to higher impact sports like football, but that doesn’t mean it is without it’s injuries.

In fact, according to Vital Energy founder Hima Dalal, children as young as eight and nine years of age will complain of low back pain due to nature of the sport.  Lower back pain is often seen as a geriatric issue, but young gymnasts if not treated early by sports physical therapists or occupational therapists will have permanent problems of chronic back pain.  This can also mean retirement from sports they love prematurely.

Most gymnasts at level four to ten will practice several hours a day around four to five hours a week and will fall a average of six to seven times daily.  They are flexible so they adjust, compensate, and learn to move through pain.  Good sports therapists will give sports and skill specific evaluations to see their form, ergonomics, and body mechanics with their training to see if they need core strengthening, increased range of motion in their hip, and pelvic floor.

Dalal says that they do need to work on stability versus mobility to improve strength and lengthen of the agonist and antagonist muscles.  PT/OT and Integrative therapy helps patients rehab holistically to overcome pain and strengthen progressively in the correct ergonomics pattern. Also, they help you to get rid of emotional issues and trauma to prevent muscle guarding.

For more information, contact hima.dalalOT@gmail.com You can also contact her on FaceBook at Hima Dalal Integrative Health.