QuestionMy 10 year old daughter trains 30 hours a week doing Elite Gymnastics ,she ran to jump on springboard for the vault and immediately felt pain ,she is walking with a twist in the waist area and also gets pain in her left quadracep muscle towards the knee she has had 2 treatments with a chiropractor who uses a supplicator gun she also gets pain in her left buttock. Do you think I am doing the right thing? She is devastated she cannot train.Would appreciate your opinion .Thank you.
AnswerSue,
My only real concern is that she is properly examined and diagnosed. It must be clearly understood that she has developing bones that have growth plates. These growth plates are vulnerable anatomic zones and can shift or dent, sometimes giving the illusion that there is a muscle strain to the thigh or pain around the knee, when in fact it's a slipped/shifted growth plate at the femoral head (the ball shaped femoral head at the hip socket), or a small fracture to the lumbar vertebra (e.g. a little bone called the pars interarticularis on the back side of the vertebra). Other scenarios include the doctor believing it's just a strain when in fact a tendon was avulsed off of the bone. So while I am not a fan of mechanical "guns" or other clicking gizmos, I am much more concerned about adequate diagnosis. Assuming she has no fractures or other bone disruptions or avulsions, then manual therapy should be multimodal in approach. In other words, it would be best for her to get a mix of modalities: manual joint manipulation, muscle therapy/massage/myofascial release, rehabilitative exercises. Avoid ice. It will not fix anything, just numb a booboo. Kinesiotape may help her feel and function better when her pain is reducing. Low level laser (or cold laser) has been shown to be a useful and safe modality, and it can't hurt in any way. If she is showing steady improvement with time and treatment, then no worries. If day after day she remains in pain without anything changing, then she must be re-assessed.
'Hope this helps.
Dr. G'
