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!

I will put up a post on The Stick and massage on Saturday. Try to get some reaction from sport medicine experts.

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.

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.