65% of All Female High School Sports Catastrophic Injuries Attributed to Cheerleading
From the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education newsletter:
The Twenty-Fifth Annual Report on Catastrophic Sports Injury Research reports these statistics and several individual cases dealing with catastrophic cheerleading injuries. These numbers include fatalities, non-fatal injuries with permanent severe functional disabilities, and serious injuries. Many of these are head and neck injuries.
The time for denial and comparing cheerleading to other sports is over. Now is the time to focus on prevention. Safety begins with the coach. Four elements are of utmost importance:
1) the coach must be trained and knowledgeable about cheerleading skills,
2) physicals (including a complete medical history) should be included in pre-participation screening,
3) proper conditioning programs should be provided for cheerleaders,
4) proper training in gymnastics and stunting (including proper spotting techniques) should be provided.
Whether you coach high school, all star or recreation cheerleaders, safety and proper training for all should be your focus. The full report written by Dr. Fred Mueller and Dr. Robert Cantu can be accessed at http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/AllSport.htm
Read the special section on cheerleading and the individual cases included in the report.
