- The specialists from the Gymnastics Sports Unit at Ribera Imske Hospital remind us that an injury is not over when the pain disappears and emphasize the value of combining sports medicine, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation to support athletes in their recovery until they return to the mat.
- Ankles, knees, spine, and hips account for the majority of gymnastics injuries, but experts warn that incomplete recovery increases the risk of re-injury.
When a gymnast stops feeling pain, she often thinks she's recovered. However, specialists in the Gymnastics Sports Unit from the hospital Imske Riverbank They remind us that the disappearance of symptoms does not always mean that the body is ready to withstand the demands of training and competition again.
“Jumps, catches, turns, throws and thousands of weekly repetitions subject the musculoskeletal system to very specific loads that require equally specialized recovery,” explains Mireya Esteban, head of the Gymnastics Sports Unit at Ribera Imske, who adds that one of the main causes of relapse is “returning to activity without having fully recovered the strength, stability, mobility or neuromuscular control necessary to perform the movements specific to gymnastics.”
Among the most common injuries in these disciplines are ankle sprains, knee injuries, muscle strains, and back problems, especially in young athletes subjected to high training volumes. "The goal is not only to eliminate the pain, but also to enable the gymnast to return to training and competition safely and confidently," explains Esteban.
To achieve this, this specialized unit at the Ribera Imske hospital carries out an individualized assessment of each athlete and designs specific rehabilitation programs that progressively reproduce the real demands of gymnastics.
The gymnasts' testimony: patience, commitment and specialized equipment
The experiences of several gymnasts treated at this unit reflect the importance of this process. Some of them have managed to return to training pain-free after injuries that prevented them from performing basic technical elements or training normally. This is the case of Adriana Román Sevilla, Victoria Cabrelles Chapa, and Sara Martí Domínguez, who have shared their stories about their injury recovery process. They all emphasize the importance of patience and commitment to the recovery process, the exercises, and the guidelines provided by the specialized professionals at Ribera Imske.
Dr. Sergio Calvache, coordinator of Sports Medicine at this hospital, also emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to these types of injuries, especially when they affect athletes in their growth stages. "Recovery isn't just about healing a specific injury. It also involves analyzing what factors contributed to its occurrence, in order to reduce the risk of it happening again," he points out.
The Ribera Imske Gymnastics Sports Unit was created with this philosophy: to accompany athletes throughout the entire process, from diagnosis to return to competition.
