Editing Gymnastics (section)

==Health and safety==

Gymnastics is one of the most dangerous sports, with a very high injury rate seen in girls age 11 to 18.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Bergeron |first1=Michael F. |last2=Mountjoy |first2=Margo |last3=Armstrong |first3=Neil |last4=Chia |first4=Michael |last5=Côté |first5=Jean |last6=Emery |first6=Carolyn A. |last7=Faigenbaum |first7=Avery |last8=Hall |first8=Gary |last9=Kriemler |first9=Susi |date=July 2015 |title=International Olympic Committee consensus statement on youth athletic development |url=http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/49/13/843.full.pdf |url-status=live |journal=British Journal of Sports Medicine |volume=49 |issue=13 |pages=843–851 |doi=10.1136/bjsports-2015-094962 |issn=1473-0480 |pmid=26084524 |s2cid=4984960 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311060902/http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/49/13/843.full.pdf |archive-date=11 March 2017 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 

Some gymnastic movements which were allowed in past competitions are now banned for safety reasons; for example, the [[Thomas salto]], a twisting salto landed with a forward roll on the floor, was banned after several injuries. [[Elena Mukhina]], the 1978 World all-around champion, broke her neck while practicing the skill in an exhausted state and became [[Tetraplegia|quadriplegic]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Dvora Meyers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weHPCgAAQBAJ&q=Thomas+salto+Mukhina+gymnastics&pg=PT47 |title=The End of the Perfect 10: The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics' Top Score —from Nadia to Now |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-501-10140-3}}</ref> The vaulting table replaced the old vaulting horse in the early 2000s and an additional mat was added around the springboard for safety reasons after several female gymnasts, such as [[Julissa Gomez]], became paralyzed during vaulting attempts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yan |first=Holly |date=2019-11-13 |title=Gymnastics deaths are rare, but previous disasters have prompted safety changes |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/13/sport/gymnastics-deaths-injuries-and-safety-measures/index.html |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

=== Landing ===
In a tumbling pass, dismount, or vault, landing is the final phase, following take-off and flight<ref name="Marinsek, M. 2010">Marinsek, M. (2010). basic lending. 59–67.</ref> This is a critical skill in terms of execution in competition scores, general performance, and injury occurrence. Without the necessary magnitude of energy dissipation during impact, the risk of sustaining injuries during somersaulting increases. These injuries commonly occur at the lower extremities such as cartilage lesions, ligament tears, and bone bruises/fractures.<ref>Yeow, C., Lee, P., & Goh, J. (2009). Effect of landing height on frontal plane kinematics, kinetics, and energy dissipation at lower extremity joints. Journal of Biomechanics, 1967–1973.</ref> To avoid such injuries, and to receive a high-performance score, proper technique must be used by the gymnast. "The subsequent ground contact or impact landing phase must be achieved using a safe, aesthetic, and well-executed double foot landing."<ref>Gittoes, M. J., & Irin, G. (2012). Biomechanical approaches to understanding the potentially injurious demands of gymnastic-style impact landings. Sports Medicine A Rehabilitation Therapy Technology, 1–9.</ref> A successful landing in gymnastics is classified as soft, meaning the knee and hip joints are at greater than 63 degrees of flexion.<ref name="Marinsek, M. 2010" />

A higher flight phase results in a higher vertical ground reaction force. Vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) represents an external force which the gymnasts have to overcome with their muscle force and affects the gymnasts' linear and angular momentum. Another important variable that affects linear and angular momentum is the time the landing takes. Gymnasts can decrease the impact force by increasing the time taken to perform the landing. Gymnasts can achieve this by increasing hip, knee and ankle amplitude.<ref name="Marinsek, M. 2010" />

===Podium training===
Podium training refers to the official practice session before a gymnastics competition begins. The purpose of this is to enable competing gymnasts to get a feel for the competition equipment inside the arena in which they will be competing,<ref>{{webarchive |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20190417111250/https://www.thoughtco.com/podium-training-1714769 |date=April 17, 2019 |title=Here's Why Podium Training in Gymnastics is Important|no-link=y}}</ref> primarily for reasons of safety.

===Physical injuries===
Compared to athletes who play other sports, gymnasts are at higher than average risk of [[overuse injuries]] and injuries caused by [[early sports specialization]] among children and young adults.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Feeley|first1=Brian T.|last2=Agel|first2=Julie|last3=LaPrade|first3=Robert F.|date=January 2016|title=When Is It Too Early for Single Sport Specialization?|journal=The American Journal of Sports Medicine|volume=44|issue=1|pages=234–241|doi=10.1177/0363546515576899|issn=1552-3365|pmid=25825379|s2cid=15742871}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Benjamin|first1=Holly J.|last2=Engel|first2=Sean C.|last3=Chudzik|first3=Debra|date=September–October 2017|title=Wrist Pain in Gymnasts: A Review of Common Overuse Wrist Pathology in the Gymnastics Athlete|journal=Current Sports Medicine Reports|volume=16|issue=5|pages=322–329|doi=10.1249/JSR.0000000000000398|issn=1537-8918|pmid=28902754|s2cid=4103946}}</ref> Gymnasts are at particular risk of foot and wrist injuries.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chéron|first1=Charlène|last2=Le Scanff|first2=Christine|last3=Leboeuf-Yde|first3=Charlotte|date=2016|title=Association between sports type and overuse injuries of extremities in children and adolescents: a systematic review |journal=Chiropractic & Manual Therapies|volume=24|page=41|doi=10.1186/s12998-016-0122-y|pmc=5109679|pmid=27872744 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wolf|first1=Megan R.|last2=Avery|first2=Daniel|last3=Wolf|first3=Jennifer Moriatis|date=February 2017|title=Upper Extremity Injuries in Gymnasts|journal=Hand Clinics|volume=33|issue=1|pages=187–197|doi=10.1016/j.hcl.2016.08.010|issn=1558-1969|pmid=27886834}}</ref> [[Strength training]] can help prevent injuries.

===Abuse===
There have been recorded cases of [[Abuse in gymnastics|emotional and sexual abuse in gymnastics]] in many different countries.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fisher|first1=Leslee A.|last2=Anders|first2=Allison Daniel|date=3 March 2020|title=Engaging with Cultural Sport Psychology to Explore Systemic Sexual Exploitation in USA Gymnastics: A Call to Commitments|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2018.1564944|journal=Journal of Applied Sport Psychology|language=en|volume=32|issue=2|pages=129–145|doi=10.1080/10413200.2018.1564944|s2cid=149606211|issn=1041-3200}}</ref> The [[USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal]] is considered one of the largest abuse scandals in sports history.<ref>{{cite web |last=Graham |first=Bryan Armen |date=December 16, 2017 |title=Why don't we care about the biggest sex abuse scandal in sports history? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/dec/16/gymnastics-larry-nassar-sexual-abuse |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503102914/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/dec/16/gymnastics-larry-nassar-sexual-abuse |archive-date=May 3, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2018 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In 2022, the [[Whyte Review]] was published, criticizing extensive abusive practices by [[British Gymnastics]] that included sexual and emotional abuse and excessive weight management of athletes.<ref name="BBCJun16Abuse">{{cite news |author=Katie Falkingham |date=16 June 2022 |title=Gymnastics abuse: Whyte Review finds physical and emotional abuse issues were 'systemic' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/gymnastics/61796129 |access-date=17 June 2022 |work=[[BBC Sport]]}}</ref>

===Height concerns===
Gymnasts tend to have [[short stature]], but it is unlikely that the sport affects their growth. Parents of gymnasts tend also to be shorter than average.<ref name=":0" />