Taking the Fear out of Cheer: How to Reduce the Threat of Injury

By Martha Michael

When March Madness rolls around it means millions of eyes are on college basketball’s NCAA Final Four tournament to see how the teams stack up and who rises to the top of the bracket. If you’re engrossed in the games, you may not notice there’s another pyramid forming courtside that’s made up of a team of athletes with the skills and physicality to match the players they cheer for. Your grandmother’s cheerleading was probably more talk than action, but today’s stunting involves dangerous feats of flexibility that raises the threat of injury to the level of other sports.

March is Cheerleading Safety Month, an acknowledgment that it’s a sport that comes with its share of risks. Though it may not match the number of injuries incurred by football or bull riding, it’s worthy of attention.

Dangers of Cheerleading

Sports fans have all seen a player go down on the field followed by a timeout and the team doctor or chiropractor responding to assess their injuries. It’s not something you typically see where the cheer team is concerned, but every year more than 30,000 cheerleaders end up at the hospital, according to an article on the Geisinger Medical Center website.

“Cheerleading has changed a lot in the last 30 years,” Dr. Hans Olsen, an orthopedic surgeon at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, says. “Parents may remember what cheerleading was like when they were in high school, where cheerleaders merely rooted for a team. But with the introduction of competitive cheerleading, the sport has gone from a sideline activity to an intense sport in its own right.”

There is a wide range of injuries possible because of the full body experience of competitive cheering and the fact they continue to push the envelope in developing new styles involving:

• Pyramids
• Stunts
• Dance moves
• Poses
• Tumbling
• Stands
• Flying
• Jumps
• Handstands

The result is that cheerleaders are in danger of injuring themselves -- literally -- head to toe. Some of the most typical types of injuries for cheerleaders include:

Head injuries - Cheerleaders who perform at the base of the pyramid are at greatest risk of sustaining a concussion, which is the most common injury for cheer participants.

Wrist injuries - It’s natural to reach out your hand to break a fall, but it puts excessive weight on your wrist and can sprain, break, or dislocate the bones in your hand.

Knee injuries - When flyers don’t dismount flat on their feet their landing can put stress on their knees. Stunts can cause you to tear ligaments such as your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL) or meniscus.

Ankle injuries - Cheer routines include running, jumping, and flipping, all of which put stress on the ankles. Sprains and breaks can easily occur, especially for youngsters whose bones aren’t fully formed at the joints.

High School Cheerleading

The number of injuries is growing as competitive cheer teams add risky stunts, but for high school squads the rate of injury is lower than it is for other athletes.

The USA Cheer website has a comparison of high school sports injury rates using data from the University of Colorado Denver College of Public Health. High School cheerleaders accounted for 0.67 per 1,000 AE, or athlete exposure, while athletes involved in sports supported by members of the cheer team fare far worse. Football injuries outpace them all, with 3.74 per 1,000 AE. Other sports with a high level of threats to safety at the high school level include soccer with 2.51 AE, wrestling with 2.48 AE, and ice hockey with 2.41 AE.

The majority of concussion rates among high school athletes goes to football as well, with 0.81 per 1,000 AE. For female sports, cheerleading is fourth in causing the most injuries, behind soccer, lacrosse, and basketball.

Prevention and Treatment of Cheer Injuries

If a cheer team member falls, he or she needs to seek treatment immediately, but there are steps you can take to minimize the chance of getting injured in the first place. The website for Nationwide Children’s Hospital has an article with a list of prevention tips for cheerleaders:

• Stretch out in both upper and lower extremities. Hold each stretch for 20 seconds or longer and do 2 to 3 repetitions.
• Use your legs as shock absorbers after each jump. Place your shoulders directly above your knees, which should be fixed above your toes.
• Strengthen your core, which includes the muscles in your back, hip, and abdomen. Do core exercises daily to maintain strength.
• Participate in balance training using stationary and dynamic activities.

Similar to gymnasts, cheerleaders are physically supported by other members of the team, so athletes on the base -- of a pyramid, for example -- need to be in tip-top condition to perform safely. Participants in any sport can incur injuries from overuse; in repetitive sports, such as cheerleading, you can suffer long-term effects. If you don’t change course, the injury can worsen over time, and you may eventually lose function in one of your limbs. Look for signs that an injury is significant, which means you need to get the athlete treated as soon as possible.

Symptoms may include:

• Tenderness on the bone
• Weakness or numbness
• Deformity
• Inability to move a body part
• Swelling or bruising
• Difference in temperature

Parents, coaches, and teammates can help athletes recover by encouraging treatment and decreasing pressure to perform. By educating teams of cheerleaders, basketball players, and personnel in any other sport, you can minimize the risks and encourage early intervention to fast-track the healing process.

It’s easy to stay on top of injuries by scheduling routine visits to a chiropractor. You’ll notice changes as they occur, which means you can begin chiropractic treatment immediately.

Other Spring Sports Injuries

Millions of kids participate in youth sports programs in the spring, but if they sat out during the winter, they need to prepare for action with proper conditioning. Some of the most popular spring sports include baseball and softball, track and field, boys’ volleyball, golf, lacrosse, and tennis.

You don’t have to play competitive contact sports to be at risk of getting hurt. The Boystown Hospital website lists some of the most common injuries during the spring sports season:

• Groin pulls
• Ankle sprains
• Shin splints
• Hamstring pulls
• Tennis elbow

These injuries are preventable, but they require attention by the athlete. Tips for prevention include:

Warm up - Take time to stretch out before any form of activity. You can warm up through walking, running, jumping jacks or another physical practice.

Condition adequately - Begin training before the start of the season. Tennis and baseball players should strengthen their shoulders and golfers should stretch their lower backs.

Be aware of your body - From proper hydration to muscle fatigue, participating in athletics requires maximum function.

Use appropriate equipment - Wear protective gear when playing contact sports such as baseball, football, and boxing. Replace equipment when it’s worn out or in need of repair.

When spring sports -- or, significantly, March Madness -- is underway you can cheer on your favorite team and place your bet in the office pool. The outcome is never sure, of course, but it’s a safe bet that most viewers aren’t tuned in to cheerleader safety. Though the cheer team does most of their work on the sidelines, injury prevention and treatment should be front and center.

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