Gymnastics causes Achilles injury?

Achilles tendon ruptures are shockingly common in high level gymnastics.

Scott from King Bars Sports, LLC, the firm that sells the new Weller Spring for Floor, points us to an important article.

The Weller spring claims to reduce the impact force.

In Stride – Sports Medicine

By Jordana Bieze Foster

When three gymnasts from three different countries suffered torn Achilles tendons while practicing or competing in floor exercise at the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, CA, gymnastics experts had to wonder whether the floor itself had contributed to the injuries.

As the International Gymnastics Federation’s scoring code has evolved to reward gymnasts for difficult aerial maneuvers, so has the surface on which floor exercises are performed become less stiff, incorporating spring coils to afford gymnasts more air time in which to twist and turn. But the injuries to American Courtney Kupets, Belarusian Dmitri Kasparovich, and Russian Evgeni Krylov on the world stage in 2003, followed by another Achilles tear suffered by Tabitha Yim at the U.S. Olympic team selection camp the following year, suggest that there is a biomechanical price to be paid for that competitive advantage.

…

“Sadly, we believe that the floor and vault board are major contributors to Achilles tendon and other injuries,” said William A. Sands, PhD, head of sport biomechanics and engineering for the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, CO. “In my view, there is a problem with apparatus design that has its genesis in a lack of understanding of the nature of impact, vibration, and energy return of the apparatus.”

… Sands and his colleagues are working to create a more detailed picture of the athlete/apparatus interaction, using EMG, high-speed video, accelerometers, and Tekscan and Polhemus systems.

“There are a number of subtle nuances that haven’t been addressed and should be,” Sands said. “These include gymnasts’ age, weight, strength, experience, periodization of training, and bone, ligament, and tendon health. This is a very complex problem with a lot of tentacles going in different directions.”

BioMechanics Archives:: January 2007 – Efforts to reduce gymnastics injuries focus on spring floors

original – flickr – name

AAI and USAG are hesitating to allow the (fully interchangeable) Weller springs. They feel there’s not enough research yet to be certain they will reduce injury.

But how many more athletes are going to snap Achilles while we wait to find out?

WOGA in Texas has installed Weller springs in all their Floors. They’re not waiting for the science to prove out.

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