Head and neck injuries in cheerleaders are rare compared to other sports, but their numbers are increasing. The overall incidence of concussion in all women’s sports is 41 per 100,000 athletes infected; the cheerleader rating is about three-tenths of that. In all sports, except for cheerleading, the rate drops sharply: in practice, concussions occur about a sixth less often than concussions in competitions.
Cheerleading is a dangerous sport. It is one of the most dangerous collegiate and high school sports alongside football. Common injuries sustained in cheerleading include concussions and sprains. Moreover, the lack of attention cheerleading injuries receive compounds the problem.
Cheerleading was the only sport of the 20 respondents that had a higher risk of concussion in practice (14 out of 100,000) than in competition (12 out of 100,000).
One report reads that cheerleaders suffered twice as many injuries as female volleyball players, which is actually accurate, but paints a completely inaccurate picture of the risk of participating in cheering compared to volleyball.
Accounts of Injuries for Cheerleaders
Looking at the number of potential injuries (three months versus eight), cheerleaders actually had almost half the injuries per 1000 exposures (4.9) than a volleyball team (8.7). Last year’s annual report found that competitive cheerleaders accounted for just 1.2% of sports-related injuries between July 2017 and June 2018, while football injuries accounted for 54.1% of total injuries.
According to another report issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, out of 22 high school students in 2016, cheerleaders ranked 18th among the most dangerous sports. Since it is one of the most popular sports among high school and college students, it is obvious that cheerleading injuries are not a small problem. However, in terms of serious injuries, one of the most dangerous sports is not football, rugby or basketball… but cheerleading.
Cheerleaders have gone far beyond the era of ‘Long Live’, ‘Long Live’, ‘Long Live’, and ‘GO TEAM’. It quickly became one of the most dangerous sports among young women. According to a recent study, cheerleading is the “most dangerous sport” for American women, causing 66% of catastrophic injuries. According to a new report, cheerleading is far more dangerous than any other sport for high school and college students, which adds several previously unreported serious injuries to an increasing list.
According to an annual report released by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research on Monday, high school cheerleaders accounted for 65.1% of all catastrophic sports injuries for high school girls in the past 25 years. Equally bleak is the university statistics.
Cheerleaders accounted for 66.7% of all catastrophic injuries in female sports, higher than the previous estimate of 59.4%. The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (NCCSIR) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reported that for high school and college athletes, the number of female cheerleaders can cause catastrophic injuries.
Cheerleading Compared to other Sports
A study by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research (NCCSIR) found that cheerleaders accounted for 70.5% of all female catastrophic sports injuries. 65.2% of high school female sports injuries are caused by school cheerleaders.
High school cheerleaders have an average of 3.8 injuries in their careers, and college-level athletes have an average of 3.5 injuries. Overall, soccer players and cheerleaders have the most fatalities.
However, while this percentage of injuries makes the sport somewhat more dangerous than football, all the statistics show that footballers are far more likely to actually die from sports-related injuries than cheerleaders. In addition, in terms of the ratio of the number of injuries to participants, support groups are not even included in the seven most dangerous sports. However, cheerleaders have had higher injury rates over time than 23 of the 24 sports recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), with the exception of football.
For example, in 2013, the Journal of Pediatrics named cheerleading as the most dangerous sport besides football due to the high risk of concussions and catastrophic injuries that can cause some kind of life-changing condition. I would like to think that we could find a few more reasons why cheerleading should be a sport other than danger. And when it comes to protecting cheerleading qualifications as a sport, people often cite numerous studies that show that cheerleading is by far the most dangerous sport for young people.
Failure to recognize cheerleaders as a sport can jeopardize the health of cheerleaders and put them at risk of serious injury. Just because cheerleaders are dangerous doesn’t mean it should be a sport. When it comes to neck and head risks, cheerleading training is almost as bad as football.
Cheerleading Is Consistently Recognized as a Dangerous Sport
If you had to compile a list of the 20 most dangerous sports, what would it be? You would probably say hockey, lacrosse or football, but what about cheerleaders? Believe it or not, one study ranked cheerleaders as the 16th most injured sport. Another recent study found that cheerleading is the most dangerous sport for women due to the high risk of concussion and “catastrophic” injuries, which are classified as injuries that lead to long-term illness, permanent disability, or shortened life expectancy.
Several factors are thought to increase the risk of cheerleading injuries. In addition, 96% of concussions and head injuries in cheerleaders are caused by acrobatics. Back injuries are also common in cheerleaders, mainly from falls and stunts.
But more serious injuries, such as a broken bone or a torn ligament, may require surgery, which can put your cheerleader aside for months. Landing on a pass or jumping off a pyramid places stress on not only the ankles but also the knees. Another serious injury associated with cheerleaders is dislocated shoulders and elbows.
These catastrophic cheerleading injuries include cervical spine injuries, skull fractures and closed head injuries, which can lead to permanent brain damage, paralysis or death. Research on catastrophic injuries by the National Catastrophic Sports Center and the University of North Carolina and Emerson Hospital in Massachusetts shows that football-related injuries are in the 90th percentile, while cheerleaders cause catastrophic injuries in excess of 65%. Dr. Cynthia Beer of Sports Science has determined that injury cheerleaders are more powerful than football.
Another reason the cheerleader reportedly has higher injury rates than other sports has to do with how the data is published. However, in terms of injury rates per 1,000 shows, the sports with the highest injury rates among high school athletes are gymnastics (8.5), football (5.3), basketball (4.4), field hockey ( 3.7), softball (3.5), volleyball (1.7). ) and cheerleader (0.9). Unsurprisingly, soccer tops the list for most concussions during training, but cheerleaders came in second, overtaking contact sports like lacrosse and ice hockey.
Final Words
The dangers of rocking the pom-pom were also reported in the news, with student Melissa Martin suing UC Berkeley and her support coaches for head injuries. She was injured while practicing cheerleading, a sport that some consider to be one of the most dangerous for girls now.
