Best sports for a really stiff girl

[Anonymous]

DD13 is really stiff. Even since she hit puberty, she is walking like a soldier. It's like her knees don't bend. It was not always like that but she did always have a very erect posture. She is thin.

She played tennis for about 4 years. She was a fast runner and hits the ball really well. Her serve sucked, and, in any case, she doesn't want to play tennis anymore.

She has recently expressed interest in figure skating. Would this be a good sport for her? How about dance? Not looking for anything competitive, just something that she would enjoy and that would help a little with the flexibility.

[Anonymous]

What about yoga? Just casually to help her learn to stretch.

[Anonymous]

Martial arts? Not sure if that’s her thing, but my daughter wasn’t flexible and all the kicks definitely increase her flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD13 is really stiff. Even since she hit puberty, she is walking like a soldier. It's like her knees don't bend. It was not always like that but she did always have a very erect posture. She is thin.

She played tennis for about 4 years. She was a fast runner and hits the ball really well. Her serve sucked, and, in any case, she doesn't want to play tennis anymore.

She has recently expressed interest in figure skating. Would this be a good sport for her? How about dance? Not looking for anything competitive, just something that she would enjoy and that would help a little with the flexibility.

Bending one's knees is pretty much the first thing you need to do to ice skate. If she's looking for an activity to push her body a bit outside her comfort zone, then skating lessons could do that. If she's got a medical condition that needs attention in terms of joint flexibility, not sure ice skating is a good place to start.

[Anonymous]

Figure skating uses a ton of flexibility in the whole body and especially strength and flexibility of legs. It may help her gain flexibility and leg strength but it'll be hard bc it always requires balance, coordination, etc.

[Anonymous]

Rowing

[Anonymous]

Have you had her evaluated? This sounds like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in addition to many other things. I would not be pushing her to do anything until she’s evaluated.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the PP about getting everything checked out in the medical side.

But absent learning anything negative from that, I would consider anything that requires moving in 3D space vs. in a single plane. So running, crew, and swimming would not help much but tennis, gymnastics, climbing, dance and skating definitely would. Things with dynamic and eccentric loading would be good. PT might be helpful, too.

DH and I are physically inflexible and always did sports like running, swimming and rowing that made it worse.

DD inherited our inflexibility but her primary activities are dance and gymnastics. It’s counterintuitive but both have been so good for her body. We can see the problems in our bodies unwinding in hers because of the kind of training she’s doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you had her evaluated? This sounds like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in addition to many other things. I would not be pushing her to do anything until she’s evaluated.

You scared me now. I am reading through the symptoms, I don't see anything that applies.

Her joints are not swollen and she is not feeling pain. She is not aware of her posture or her stiffness, or complaining about it. It's just something that you can see - when she was playing tennis she wasn't bending the knees (as she should have), and now, as she is walking, she is not bending them as much as she should, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with the PP about getting everything checked out in the medical side.

But absent learning anything negative from that, I would consider anything that requires moving in 3D space vs. in a single plane. So running, crew, and swimming would not help much but tennis, gymnastics, climbing, dance and skating definitely would. Things with dynamic and eccentric loading would be good. PT might be helpful, too.

DH and I are physically inflexible and always did sports like running, swimming and rowing that made it worse.

DD inherited our inflexibility but her primary activities are dance and gymnastics. It’s counterintuitive but both have been so good for her body. We can see the problems in our bodies unwinding in hers because of the kind of training she’s doing.

Thank you. We were thinking in the similar direction, and she asked for figure skating on her own (which I don't think she is going to be good at but hopefully can help with rigidity).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Figure skating uses a ton of flexibility in the whole body and especially strength and flexibility of legs. It may help her gain flexibility and leg strength but it'll be hard bc it always requires balance, coordination, etc.

Thank you. She actually has excellent balance and is very coordinated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you had her evaluated? This sounds like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in addition to many other things. I would not be pushing her to do anything until she’s evaluated.

You scared me now. I am reading through the symptoms, I don't see anything that applies.

Her joints are not swollen and she is not feeling pain. She is not aware of her posture or her stiffness, or complaining about it. It's just something that you can see - when she was playing tennis she wasn't bending the knees (as she should have), and now, as she is walking, she is not bending them as much as she should, either.

This is odd enough that it is worth talking to her pediatrician about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you had her evaluated? This sounds like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in addition to many other things. I would not be pushing her to do anything until she’s evaluated.

You scared me now. I am reading through the symptoms, I don't see anything that applies.

Her joints are not swollen and she is not feeling pain. She is not aware of her posture or her stiffness, or complaining about it. It's just something that you can see - when she was playing tennis she wasn't bending the knees (as she should have), and now, as she is walking, she is not bending them as much as she should, either.

This is odd enough that it is worth talking to her pediatrician about it.

We just had yearly exam. Nobody noticed anything.

[Anonymous]

Given the age is it perhaps more that she's growing into her suddenly longer limbs after a growth spurt? You know, looks a little like Bambi the Disney movie deer? And that awkward movement translates into looking like she's stiff?

My 12 year old looks kind of ridiculous while playing her sport right now because she clearly just doesn't know how to move her growing-an-inch-a-month body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you had her evaluated? This sounds like juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in addition to many other things. I would not be pushing her to do anything until she’s evaluated.

You scared me now. I am reading through the symptoms, I don't see anything that applies.

Her joints are not swollen and she is not feeling pain. She is not aware of her posture or her stiffness, or complaining about it. It's just something that you can see - when she was playing tennis she wasn't bending the knees (as she should have), and now, as she is walking, she is not bending them as much as she should, either.

Maybe you’re not describing what is really happening but when you say your daughter cannot move her knees/is stiff, it sounds like something that should certainly be evaluated.