Two words you DON’T want in your vocabulary as a young competitive-level gymnast,

“Heel Pain”! What does it mean and how can I treat it?

As a mom of a competitive level gymnast, I can tell you from experience, how these two words can wreak havoc on a child’s daily work outs! I don’t know which was worse getting the dreaded phone call from the coach complaining that your child is “bucking the system” during workout or picking up a crying child after work out, all to find out she is complaining of “HEEL PAIN”! Good news parents, it’s only temporary!

Here’s what I learned about “HEEL PAIN” and how we survived...

The medical term for the heel pain is Sever’s disease and doesn’t discriminate among genders. For girls, they usually see signs between the ages of 8 and 13 years old, with boys being between ages 10 and 15 years old. The cause of the heel pain is very simple. As a child grows, their bones lengthen very quickly and can cause muscle tightness, which in turn pulls on the growth plate. During this time, your gymnast continues to work out, hence causing inflammation from overuse.

There are a lot of treatment options to help you get through this challenging time and preserve your child’s love for the sport, as it can get to be very frustrating for all involved. Along with the standard treatments of reduced training time, icing and stretching, we were introduced to the Tuli’s Cheetah. It was a lifesaver for my gymnast!

Tuli's® Cheetah®

The Cheetah is a matchless combination of the well-known Tuli’s Heel Cup that uses shock absorbing technology and a very comfortable and lightweight neoprene ankle support, both of which provides excellent relief for your gymnast as he/she trains on floor routines, vault or tumbling. Another perk...not only can you use the Cheetah during workouts, but they are also permissible during competitions, so there’s never a reason to “leave home without it”!

Don’t waste another minute watching your gymnast suffer through the pain, while being reprimanded by the coach and making work out a miserable place to be. Been there, done that, and it’s not fun! This age is the most important age if a gymnast wants to be successful and train for years to come!

You can order your original Tuli’s Cheetah at medi-dyne.com. You won’t be disappointed, I promise!

Good luck and train hard my fellow gymnasts!