Care and Prevention of Rips

One of the things I have learned about, as a newbie mom of a young gymnasts, are rips. For those of you not in the know, "rips" are basically tears on the palms of your hands from bar work. This is one of the pitfalls that all gymnasts face.

I'm not sure why, but the coaches at the gym don't seem inclined to offer advice to the girls on how to care for, and prevent rips. Kaylie got her first one in March, and I took some time to research on the internet on how to properly care for it.

Kaylie slipped on the stairs on Thursday, so her foot has been a bit sore, and on Friday she was having trouble running for her vault practice. She has a good coach, who noticed, and sent her over to work with the level 5 girls on the bars, so that she wouldn't strain her foot. An unfortunate consequence of this, is that she ended up staying at the bars when the level 4 girls came over to do that skill, and so her palms were sore, and on the verge of ripping by the time she finished for the night. We decided to use one of the tips I had found on the internet, and she was very pleased with the result---so, in case there are any other newbie parents reading this, I have decided to share a bit of what we learned here on the blog---noting that these are just things we have tried, and been happy with the results--in no way do I suggest that these are expert opinions/techniques--just simple things that have helped Kaylie.

First off, when she did get a rip, we cleaned her hand thoroughly with warm water and a mild soap. Next we kept it covered, with a band aid and neosporin. Once new skin was growing, she stopped using the band aid, but kept applying hand lotion, to keep it supple and prevent it from drying out. Apparently, if the edges dry out, they may catch on something, and tear more. Once healed, she continued to use the hand lotion after workouts---washing her hands before applying the lotion. She has been using a Gold Bond Ultimate product called "Healing Skin Therapy Lotion" with aloe. I have to say, I really like this lotion--it's quite effective, without perfumes and has a non-greasy feeling after application. You can also buy it in a small tube that fits great in a gym bag, or purse! Since she's been following this routine, she hasn't gotten a single rip. Now, on Friday, she came close. I suggested she try one of the other tips I read, for quick healing of a rip. After cleaning her hands, she applied the lotion and wore a pair of gloves to bed--these are gloves made for sleeping in, to heal dry skin. Ours came with a set of hand products someone gave us as a gift--I would imagine they could be found at Target, Wal-mart, or stores like The Body Shop, or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The next morning, the redness was gone, as well as most of the pain and soreness. She only ran thru her bar routine once on Saturday, during open gym--but with minimal discomfort and no tearing!! So we're very pleased with the result of that tip!

Another suggestion, which she hasn't tried yet, is to soak your hands, and then use a pumice stone to remove a bit of the callous build-up on her palms. At this point, she hasn't built up enough callous to bother with this, but I'm sure she'll get there at some point! Callouses protect your hands from tears, unless they build up too much, at which point they bunch up when you grip the bars, creating an opportunity for a rip. There are also issues of gripping the bars too tight, using too much chalk, or not enough chalk--things that you just learn as you gain experience.

So there you go, a beginner's experience with rips!