Medical experts reveal the true dangers of being a cheerleader

Medical professionals say cheerleading is a dangerous pursuit and are lobbying for it to be classified as a sport with safety rules

Cheerleading isn’t just jumping and waving pompoms – it has become as athletic and potentially as dangerous as a sport and should be designated one to improve safety, a leading group of paediatricians in the United States says.

The number of cheerleaders injured each year has climbed dramatically in the past two decades. Common stunts that pose risks include tossing and flipping cheerleaders in the air and creating human pyramids that reach 4.5 metres high or more.

In a new policy statement released this month in the journal Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics says school sports associations should designate cheerleading as a sport, and make it subject to safety rules and better supervision. That would include on- site athletic trainers, limits on practice time and better qualified coaches, the academy says.

Just like other athletes, cheerleaders should be required to do conditioning exercises and undergo physical exams before joining the squad, the new policy says.

“Not everyone is fully aware of how cheerleading has evolved over the past couple of decades. It used to be just standing on the sidelines and doing cheers and maybe a few jumps,” said Dr Cynthia LaBella, a sports medicine specialist at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital and an author of the new policy.

But she said cheerleading often resulted in injuries that include severe sprains, broken arms and legs, neck injuries and concussions.

Last year in the United States, there were almost 37,000 emergency room visits for cheerleading injuries among girls aged six to 22, according to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. That’s more than four times higher than in 1980, when cheerleading was tamer.

While there are still traditional cheerleading squads that support schools’ athletic teams, some schools and private clubs have separate cheerleading teams that compete against other teams.

Kali Wald suffered a serious concussion last year during an acrobatic routine with her Illinois high school’s competitive team; teammates tossed her in the air but she landed wrong twice, first on her upper back and neck, then on her head. She blacked out for several minutes.

Her father, Dave Wald, said her coaches didn’t realise she was seriously injured and never called an ambulance. She still has short- term memory loss and can’t attend school full- time because of dizziness, headaches and other concussion symptoms.

Kali, 18, said she believed that cheerleading should be considered a sport and made safer.

Her father agreed and said there needed to be better awareness about the rigours of cheerleading and the potential risks.

Injuries have increased as cheerleading has become more popular. Data suggest there are more than three million cheerleaders in the US aged six and older, mostly girls. That includes about 400,000 in high school, according to data cited in the new policy.

While the overall injury rate in high school cheerleading was lower than in other girls sports, including gymnastics, soccer and field hockey, the rate of catastrophic injuries like skull fractures and paralysing spine injuries was higher, the academy noted.

Kasey Bronstein, 14, and her sister Kori, 17, of New Jersey, both tore a knee tendon while cheerleading for a private competitive team run by their parents. They twisted their knees doing acrobatic moves while standing on the raised- up hands of their teammates. They had knee surgery last November, followed by extensive physical therapy, and have returned to cheerleading.

Both said it should be considered a sport but they also think it’s already pretty safe. “They’re kind of making it too safe, taking out skills that are very exciting to do,” Kori said. That includes a double flip stunt no longer allowed on her team.

Some schools and state high school sports associations already consider cheerleading a sport and require the kind of safety oversight that the academy is recommending. But many do not, said Jim Lord, executive director of the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches & Administrators.

Some don’t consider it a sport because not all cheerleading squads are involved in their own competitions, he said.

Lord said the academy’s policy mirrored many of his group’s safety recommendations for high schools and colleges.

That includes limiting the height of human pyramids in high school cheerleading to just two people. The academy also says routines that include pyramids, tumbling or tosses should not be performed on hard surfaces.

Lisa Kluchorosky, a sports medicine specialist who works with the academy and the National Athletic Trainers Association, said the new policy would help erase misconceptions that cheerleading was not very athletic.

“The statistics are compelling and you can’t turn your head from that,” she said.