Is your child doing cartwheels at the thought of being a cheerleader?
It’s not just a matter of standing on the sidelines looking good in a
uniform. Today, it’s often an athletic pursuit with a risk for injury.
A study in the journal Pediatrics found that injuries in the
United States linked to cheerleading more than doubled from 1990 to 2002.
One big reason: Cheerleading has evolved into a sport that demands great
strength, agility and gymnastic skill.
Most injuries were fairly minor, such as sprained ankles or broken
wrists. But some were serious: concussions, skull fractures, even
paralysis. Of 104 catastrophic injuries experienced by female high school
and college athletes from 1982 to 2005, more than half were caused by
cheerleading, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research
said.
“If you look at the actual number of injuries in
cheerleading, the incidence is not high compared with football, basketball
and soccer,” said Dr. Philip Wilson, pediatric orthopedic specialist at
Children’s. “But if you look at the number of severe and catastrophic
injuries, that is high, because they are doing dangerous stunts.”
Children’s is committed to educating coaches, parents and young
athletes on the importance of sports injury prevention. With a presence at
24 coaches’ clinics each year with the Plano Sports Authority, the
hospital has direct contact with and provides sports-specific
injury-prevention clipboards to 45,000 coaches. In doing so, Children’s
impacts the lives of 360,000 young athletes.
The National Federation of High Schools has embraced safety rules drawn
up by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators
(AACCA). But the rules aren’t always enforced, Dr. Wilson said. A safe
program, he adds, will include direct adult supervision, proper
conditioning, skills training and warm-up exercises. He also offers this
advice:
A safety course may assist coaches with injury prevention. A three-hour
lecture course, safety manual and 90-minute exam cost $75. For details,
visit the AACCA online at http://www.aacca.org/.
- Floor mats should be used for complex stunts. Outdoor stunts should
be canceled if the ground is wet or muddy.
- Spotters should be used when cheerleaders form a pyramid. There
should be one spotter for each person above shoulder level. No one
should be higher than two body lengths in the air.
- No one should join in a basket toss who hasn’t mastered the right
skills. In this stunt, a cheerleader is thrown into the air. The
airborne cheerleader should stay upright to avoid a head injury if the
landing goes wrong.
- Parents of cheerleaders should make sure their children are
participating in programs that are following safety rules and should
speak up if they have concerns.
Resources
Children's Medical Center
