Athletico Health Resources

Co Authors: Team USA’s Laura Zeng and Evita Griskenas

With continued shelter in place orders across the country, many athletes are having to alter training and competition schedules including Team USA’s Rhythmic Gymnasts. Unable to attend practice as they normally would, their competition season has been interrupted along with the delay of the Tokyo Olympics. Laura Zeng and Evita Griskenas, two of Team USA’s top rhythmic gymnasts, give us insight into what they are doing at home to stay active and prevent injury as well as tips for other rhythmic gymnasts.

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Opening day is finally here! And while we may not be able to spectate or tailgate like we normally would, we can still root on our favorite teams! Did you know baseball can have lasting effects on our bodies? It is import to understand and appreciate the anatomy involved and how it relates to the most typically experienced injuries during such a repetitive and overhead-dominant sport.

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Gymnastics clubs across the country have been closed for several weeks in order to keep everyone safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has resulted in gymnasts focusing on stretching and conditioning at-home in preparation for when they can get back to the gym. This is a good time to address any flexibility and strength issues that may have affected an athlete’s ability to train earlier in the year and help with injury prevention when allowed to return to practice. Here are 6 key exercises to target common areas of weakness in gymnasts.

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Training for overhead athletes oftentimes includes performing repetitive overhead activities in order to improve power and strength in their dominant extremity. However, this repetition can lead to overuse injuries, including rotator cuff injuries, labrum tears and ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tears.

So, how do you become a good overhead athlete while minimizing the risk for overuse injury? Below are tips to improve performance, up your game and avoid injury!

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Sports play an important role in many children’s developmental years. Participation in athletics can help children learn motor control, patience, teamwork, listening skills and the benefits of hard work. In 2018, data shows 52 percent of kids aged 6 to 12 participated in team or individual sports. Data from 2008 shows 27 percent of youth athletes specialized in one sport.

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Tendinitis is a chronic, overuse type of injury that is common in gymnasts as they perform multiple repetitions of their routines – on the floor, beam and when sprinting toward the vault. Rhythmic gymnasts are also at risk due to performing up to four different routines on the floor with repetitive jumping, leaping and turning.

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Baseball, softball, lacrosse, football, volleyball and tennis players all use overhead throwing in their sports. These athletes require power and strength for overhead positions in their dominant extremity.

With many sports currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s a great time for athletes to consider cross-training. It has been shown to be beneficial for overhead athletes to participate in more than one sport due to the benefits of cross training. However, many young athletes are specializing in one sport for more than nine months of the year. In order to reduce the risk of injury from repetitive motions, such as overhead throwing, athletes should incorporate cross training into their routines.

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The Chicago Tribune recently reported that high school football participation in Illinois has reached a 26-year low. For the first time since 1993, fewer than 40,000 high school students in Illinois will be participating in football.¹ Furthermore, the National Federation of State High School Associations states the number of high school students playing football has dropped 8 percent since 2007, more than any other sport. However, this is small compared to Illinois’ 25 percent drop in the same timeframe.¹

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