User:Abbieantal/sandbox/Gymnastic injuries

Gymnastics Injuries

Gymnastics is one of the most daring of all sports. Gymnastics requires extreme skills such as agility, strength, coordination, balance etc. Among all other sports, gymnastics is considered to have one of the highest injury rates of them all. The number of gymnastics related injuries continues to climb each year. A whopping 100,000 gymnasts are injured yearly. Many things have drastically changed in the last twenty years in the world of gymnastics. Many injuries remain similar to many other sports. Often times in the sport of gymnastics, overuse can drive gymnasts to traumatic injuries as a result. This overlaying issue tends to be an extremely habitual problem and as a result leads to injury by putting an immense amount of stress on one area of the body consequentially leading to further injuries <"name=gymnastics1">.

History The sport of gymnastics first began in ancient Greece, specifically in Athens and Sparta. Gymnastics was used as a war method for the men of Sparta. Programs that were created to prepare men for warfare were called exhibition gymnastics. The gymnastics elements in exhibition gymnastics formed a Pyrrhic-a dance styled in a military form for final year students. These methods were implemented to harvester a more physical aspect of education. Other elements such as strict education of both the body and mind were also merged to form a more individual approach thus creating the sport of gymnastics.

Gymnastics Injuries  Gymnastics requires a perfect mixture of power as well as grace. Each gymnastics skill is first taught by solely gaining an understanding of the skill itself. Following the knowledge of a skill comes learning how to complete it with elegance. Gymnastics does not come without its challenges. Every element within the gymnastics world requires a crucial understanding of how to fall in a safe way in order to avoid serious injury. More common causes of injury in gymnastics are often caused by insufficient flexibility of the gymnast. Insufficient strength will cause serious issues as well as overall imbalances between strength and flexibility. Repetitive motion, turning, or landing may lead to the overuse of the body which can lead to serious issues. Some of the most prominent injuries in gymnastics include Osgood-Schlatter disease. This injury involves the growth center of the tibia tubercle, in which the patellar tendon attaches to the front of the tibia, below the knee. Another common injury known as Sever’s disease. This injury involves the growth center of the heel bone (calcaneus). This injury is an overuse syndrome that occurs from jumping and running.

Mental Block Injuries A bit of fearlessness is involved with gymnastics. The thought of flipping backwards across a four-inch beam can be mind boggling, although gymnasts can make it look effortless. Extreme thoughts and feelings of nervousness and fear may lead a gymnast to “bail”. “Bailing” can be described as stopping part way through a skill due to nerves. More often than not gymnasts tend to acquire different fears throughout their gymnastics career. Mental blocks are extremely critical and can lead to very serious injury if not properly handled.