Parents, all that extra time your gymnast is spending in the gym means more of, “Mom, my hands hurt! My back aches! My arms are sore!” One of the biggest complaints parents of a gymnast will probably get is that of sore hands. Your little one is spending some time of bars, meaning those hands will transition from soft and dainty to tough and course. This is all a part of being a gymnast!
These lovely sores on your gymnasts’ hands are called rips. A gymnast will get one when they spend a lot of time swinging bars. Although they are ugly and painful, in the gymnastics world they are considered a trophy. Once you get a rip you are now, “a part of the club.” Your gymnast will come home happy to have joined, yet unhappy with the pain that will arise. Showering, brushing teeth, and washing hands will now be a bit of a burden until these suckers are healed. One thing to always remember is to remind your gymnast that this is a part of growing into a great athlete and it means one step closer to reaching your goals!
One great way to work on healing rips is to use tea bags. Yes, TEA! Parents, get a black tea bag and boil as per instructions. Drain all water out of the tea bag and leave unopened. Then, place the tea bag over the rip and get plastic wrap to place around the hand to keep it down. You can then place a glove over the hand to secure. Leave the tea bag on overnight while your gymnast sleeps. This will lessen the pain the next morning. Tip: Make sure to keep the rip area moisturized, as you don’t want the dry skin to crack, causing even more pain.
Don’t let rips discourage your gymnasts! Keep encouraging them to push through the pain and reach those goals!