What Are the Twisties in Gymnastics? Signs, Support and Returning to Training
Gymnasts use the twisties to describe losing their usual sense of orientation or control during familiar airborne skills. A gymnast may intend one movement but feel unable to judge the rotation or where the ground is. That is different from simply wishing a difficult routine felt less nerve-racking.
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The immediate response is to stop the affected skills and tell the coach. Trying again to prove that everything is fine can expose the gymnast to another uncontrolled attempt. The way back depends on the individual and may involve coaching, sports medicine and mental health support; there is no reliable one-size-fits-all recovery schedule.
What does losing air awareness feel like?
Air awareness is the gymnast's sense of body position and movement while off the ground. The twisties can disrupt that familiar feeling even in someone with years of experience. A gymnast may report unexpected twisting, uncertainty about how much rotation remains or not knowing when to prepare for landing.
Sports psychologist Matthew Sacco describes this disruption in the Cleveland Clinic's explanation of the twisties. The term describes an experience; it does not identify the cause of every episode of dizziness, hesitation or poor coordination.
Ordinary competition nerves can exist alongside reliable movement control. A gymnast who hesitates before starting a skill may be experiencing a broader performance block. Someone who loses orientation after taking off describes a different moment in the movement. These experiences can overlap, but treating every one as “just fear” misses useful information.
| What the gymnast reports | What needs clarifying |
|---|---|
| “I'm nervous, but the skill still feels familiar.” | What support would help, and is control unchanged? |
| “I cannot make myself start a skill I used to do.” | When the block appears and what the athlete experiences before takeoff. |
| “I lost where I was in the air.” | Which movement was affected; stop the affected skills and involve the coach. |
| “I feel dizzy or confused after a fall or impact.” | Possible injury; medical assessment takes priority over a performance-block label. |
This table organizes a conversation, not a diagnosis. For movement terminology, our guide to gymnastics twist names separates twisting from somersaulting. Neither knowing the skill's name nor counting its rotations establishes why control changed.
What do we know about the causes?
There is no single established explanation that covers every gymnast. Stress, pressure, doubt and intense attention to a movement can be part of an athlete's experience. Those possibilities are reasons to ask questions, not proof that a particular gymnast caused the problem by thinking incorrectly.
The research also uses several related terms. In a study of lost-move experiences in trampolining, researchers interviewed nine national- and international-level coaches. Their accounts described varied circumstances and changes over time, rather than one simple pathway.
That study helps explain why a familiar skill can become unavailable in different ways. It does not provide a diagnostic test, establish how common the twisties are among all gymnasts or prove that one intervention will work for everyone. Coaching interviews are different evidence from a treatment trial.
Body control involves more than strength alone. Our balance and body-control guide introduces the relationship between position, support and sensory information. It cannot be used to diagnose an episode of lost air awareness, and a normal-looking landing does not disprove what the gymnast felt.
What should an athlete or parent do first?
Once the gymnast is safely out of the attempt, tell the coach plainly what happened: “I started twisting when I did not intend to,” or “I could not tell where the floor was.” A parent can help the child communicate without insisting on a technical explanation or asking for a demonstration.
Write down the skill, when the change was noticed and whether there was a fall, impact, pain or other symptom. Do not keep testing different flips to map the problem. The coach and appropriate healthcare professionals can decide what information and assessment are needed.
New dizziness, confusion, headache or vision changes after a bump, blow or jolt must not be dismissed as the twisties. The CDC's concussion guidance says to remove an athlete with a suspected concussion from sport, keep them out that day and obtain healthcare clearance before returning.
Seek emergency care for danger signs after an impact, such as a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizure, increasing confusion or difficulty staying awake. The CDC lists the full concussion danger signs. These instructions address possible injury; they do not suggest that every case of the twisties is a concussion.
What does returning to training involve?
Return planning starts with understanding the problem, not setting a deadline. The coach manages the gymnastics environment and technical work. A sports medicine professional assesses physical symptoms or injury concerns. A licensed mental health professional can evaluate and treat psychological concerns; a mental-performance credential alone does not necessarily authorize clinical treatment.
The NCAA's Mental Health Best Practices makes that licensure distinction for college athletes. USA Gymnastics also provides mental health and sport psychology resources for athletes, parents and coaches. A family does not need to wait for an elite selection or a major competition to ask for help.
Depending on the assessment, the plan may include time away from affected skills, different training tasks and carefully selected steps back toward the movement. The clinician and coach should clarify their respective roles, what is currently permitted and how the athlete can report a change. A foam pit, harness or extra mat is not a guarantee against injury and is not permission to run a self-directed retraining program.
Relaxation, imagery or other mental skills may be useful parts of professional support. They are not tests the athlete must pass to earn belief or a promise that twisting will return by a particular date. Feeling calmer and being ready for a full airborne skill are separate questions.
What Simone Biles' experience can—and cannot—tell us
Biles brought the term to a wide audience during the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. In a 2023 interview with Olympics.com, she described uncertainty about returning to competition and help from people around her as she regained confidence with twisting skills.
Her account shows that an accomplished gymnast can need time and support. It is not a recovery timetable for a child or proof that every athlete needs the same training changes. Returning to competition is also only one possible outcome; the gymnast's well-being matters beyond the result.
What to watch: Near the final question, Biles reflects on how twisting feels during her return to competition. Earlier, she discusses breaks and physical and mental well-being. Listen to this as one athlete's account of support and training, not a recovery protocol to copy.
How can the people around a gymnast help?
Listen without demanding an immediate attempt. Ask what felt different and whether the gymnast wants help speaking with the coach. Useful progress may be reporting an uncomfortable sensation promptly or asking for a change to a session, rather than completing a previously blocked skill.
Keep the athlete involved in decisions. A meet date, a teammate's progress or the cost of lessons should not become a reason to pressure an uncontrolled attempt. Make space for ordinary interests and friendships so that every conversation does not turn into an update about the skill.
Agree on who needs information and what will be shared. A coach may need the practical training restrictions without the athlete having to disclose every detail of a therapy conversation. For minors, parents, the clinician and coach should coordinate appropriate support while respecting the young person's privacy.
Common questions
Are the twisties the same as being scared?
No. Fear may be involved, but losing orientation or control in the air is a more specific concern. Describe what happened rather than assuming confidence alone will solve it.
How long does recovery take?
There is no dependable universal number of days or weeks. A former athlete's timeline cannot determine when someone else is ready. Progress and return decisions need individual review.
Can someone practice through it at home?
Do not use home tumbling or trampoline attempts to test whether the twisties are gone. Work with the coach and appropriate healthcare support on what activity is suitable.
Final Takeaway
The twisties describe a loss of familiar orientation or control, not a lack of effort. Stop the affected skills, communicate the experience and get the right assessment and support. A return plan should follow the athlete's situation, not an online cure or a competition deadline.
Main Sources
- Cleveland Clinic: What Are the Twisties in Gymnastics? — a sports psychologist's explanation of the experience and support options.
- Marsollier and Hauw: Toward a definition and classification of lost move state — a qualitative study of nine elite trampolining coaches, not a treatment trial.
- CDC HEADS UP: Responding to a Sports-related Concussion — the separate response required when an injury is suspected.
- NCAA: Mental Health Best Practices — licensed clinical care and coordinated athlete support.