Iowa State’s Ceilia Maccani is competing well after not two (like Courtney Kupets) but three ruptured Achilles.
I cannot recall hearing of an Achilles repair tearing a second time. (I’ve been told a repaired Achilles is stronger than the original.)
… Maccani’s injury list … notably includes the three ruptured Achilles tendons. She tore her first one the summer before her senior season of high school. After arriving at ISU, she tore the other one. When she came back from her second tear, Maccani re-ruptured the same tendon again about a month later. …
Cyclones.com – Maccani Overcomes Age-Old Adversity
This injury is very common with FIG Male gymnasts and College Women.
Is there any way to prevent ruptured Achilles by inventing a softer Floor? Or using different springs on a Floor with the same elasticity?
Leave a comment if you have an opinion.
UPDATE: Courtney Kupets explained why she continued competing Arabian Double Front on Floor despite having ruptured one Achilles, and then the other on that skill:
I figure I’ve torn both of my Achilles’, so I’m good to go now (laughs).
IG Interview – Courtney Kupets
9 comments ↓
Most achilles injuries are due in part to very poor technique on back handsprings. When a gymnast has a really long second half to a backhandspring they are putting way more strain on their achilles rather than having a longer first half and a short and quick stand up for the second half. For example, take a look at kupets backhandspring into her arabian double and compare it to cheng fei’s standup for here double double. Also having a very poor technique on the second half of the backhandspring doesn’t allow you to do the high flipping and twisting skills. You go up, but flipping is not as efficient. I would’t be surprised if kupets ruptures it again because her technique is horrible
Good point Jay.
The classic comparison I’ve seen was between 2 Olympic Floor finalists in 2004.
Kyle Shewfelt’s backward handspring was half as long as Kate Richardson.
I would not go so far as to call a long backward handspring “bad technique” … but it is far more likely to lead to Achilles trouble.
First off, I know of this particular athlete and her first Achilles rupture actually occurred while performing a handstand snap-up (snap-down) drill of all things. Crazy, eh?
I don’t think that a long back handspring is the cause of an Achilles rupture. If it were, then a lot of gymnasts would be snapping their Achilles on a regular basis.
I’d say the biggest culprit are extremely tight calves due to all of the damn toe pointing that the sport requires. When the gymnast does contact the floor out of that long back handspring, the foot is put into dorsiflexion (“flexed” in gym terms) and that puts the calf muscles (gastroc/soleus) on stretch. Additionally, those muscles are working eccentrically to help control the ankle and the foot and they are actually creating a plantarflexion (toe point) force (also called a torque or moment) even though the foot is in a position of dorsiflexion.
If these muscles did not create that plantarflexion force, the gymnast would collapse and fall over. The same is true of walking. When you take a step and pivot over your leg, you pass through dorsiflexion, but the ankle musculature creates a plantarflexion force to keep you from falling over.
So, my hunch is that the forced dorsiflexion and the plantarflexion force that is created eccentrically are coupled with extremely tight calf muscles and makes an individual more prone to a rupture.
How do you prevent this? I’d suggest stretching the calves and some type of soft tissue work to loosen up the gastroc-soleus complex like foam rolling, using “the stick,” (http://www.performbetter.com/detail.aspx_Q_ID_E_4404_A_CategoryID_E_488) or even a tennis ball. I’d also suggest more ankle mobility work. Here’s an example. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxr9-IB0Rr4) You’ll see a tennis ball used in the video as a form of soft tissue release.
Another thing that I’d probably suggest is paying very close attention to footwear. I’d bet that people with flat feet are more at risk for these than individuals with a high arch or normal arch. Obviously, gymnasts can’t wear orthotics when competing, but they certainly can when they aren’t training. Also, high heel shoes – absolutely horrible. Women need to stop wearing high heels. They put the foot in a plantarflexed position (shortening and thus, contributed to calf tightness) and they redistribute the loading such that it is not good for the knee, either.
At some point, coaches were striving to get a long back handspring. That was considered proper technique.
Great post Chris. I had a calf muscle tear (very close to the Achiles and essentially at risk of a tendon tear): Never got the complete story, but I think tears can basically occur at the junction of muscle and tendon.
Thanks Chris.
I will put up a post on The Stick and massage on Saturday. Try to get some reaction from sport medicine experts.
there is a new spring I know woga has switched too! That is suppose to make the floors a little softer especially for little ones, Dr Jenni is about to start doing a study on them I think! you should ask her. Weller springs. you have already done a post on it. But I actually have a spring at my home if you want to take a look at it! let me know
how about wrestling mats on top of the basketball hardwood? What about Peter Korman throwing full ins on such?
biomechanists from the us olympic committee say that the spring floor is causing injuries to achilles. read about it:
http://www.biomech.com/full_article/?ArticleID=321&month=1&year=2007
“Sadly, we believe that the floor and vault board are major contributors to Achilles tendon and other injuries,”
My new Weller spring absorbs the peak forces and vibration in the floor. Significantly reducing the forces that are damaging to the athlete’s bodies. Only half the load initially affects the athlete and it recoils slower, too. See more of the tests we did head to head vs. the palmer at our website:
http;//www.wellerspring.com
AAI and USAG are hesitating to use these fully interchangeable springs. Could be a huge problem for them if injuries continue while a better spring is available!
Leave a Comment