Cheerleading Related Injuries

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Many sports have revolutionized over past years, but none more so than the sport of cheerleading. Cheerleading is simply not what it used to be. Today's cheerleaders look more like professional gymnasts performing daring and risky routines. Cheerleading demands a healthy athlete, but as the stunts and tumbling being performed require more skill and athleticism, more injuries are occurring. Over 50 percent of serious injuries that occur in female athletes are due to the sport of cheerleading. Some injuries that have been obtained include broken ankles, bad backs, and numerous hematomas.
Broken and sprained ankles come hand in hand with most cheerleading squads these days. Often, it depends on the amount of tumbling a team does. Tumbling can be easily described as doing flips. There may be many causes to a broken ankle. One cause is stunting. In a stunt, “flyers” are held about 6 feet above the ground by their teammates. If something were to go wrong in the stunt, and the flyer landed on her foot at an awkward angle, she could seriously damage her ankle. Another cause may be jumping. In cheerleading, jumping does not mean simply jumping straight up and down. Legs are supposed to go in specific positions to demonstrate strength and flexibility. If one were to land awkwardly when doing a jump, their ankle could be sprained or even broken. A third cause of hurt ankles is tumbling. Tumbling is very hard on one’s ankles, wrists and back, and the skill required to do tumbling is enormous. One doesn’t see a person doing a back flip while completing a 720 degree spin at the same time everyday… usually. However, this is normal for cheerleaders at a high competitive level. The human body is just not made for the abuse that comes with high levels of tumbling. Often, breaks occur when one doesn’t finish spinning completely or when one lands awkwardly. So what is done if one injures one’s ankle? First, go to the ...