Recently a televised news report stated that cheerleading has become the second leading cause of catastrophic injury in high school and college sports, just behind football.
In recent years the high-impact nature of modern competitive cheerleading has prompted a rise in cheerleading-related injuries. Though we don’t often think of it as a “sport,” cheerleading is actually a very physically demanding activity that calls for a high degree of athleticism, mixing dance, gymnastics and partner stunts. In addition, cheerleading nowadays tends to be a year-round sport, which does not allow appropriate time for recovery.
Most injuries that occur in cheerleading are NOT catastrophic. They occur 
mostly from chronic repetitive motion (in English, OVERUSE). In particular, the dance component of cheerleading is associated with overuse injuries of the legs and feet such as plantar fascitis, patellar tendonitis, ankle sprains, stress fractures, hip strains, and inflammation around the hips.
But the gymnastics maneuvers cause the number one cheerleading overuse injury. Low-back injuries occur because of repeated hyperextension of the lower back that you see in back bends, back-hand-springs, back flips and having to stand for long periods of time. Add in the fact that most cheerleaders are wearing shoes that are extremely light-weight. These types of shoes do not offer much in the way of either support for the feet or shock absorption. Given the long periods of standing that cheerleaders have at practices and games – along with the aforementioned reasons — it becomes clear to see how lower back pain tends to be a very common complaint amongst cheerleaders. Because of the lack of support from the shoes, ankle and knee injuries can occur in the landings of tumbling maneuvers and partner stunt dismounts.
However, it’s not just the lower half of the body that takes all the abuse. Overuse injuries of the shoulders, wrists, and elbows are common. The athletes at the base of the partner stunts frequently have more of these injuries. In addition they can experience neck injuries and neck pain from having to support the weight of their partner on their shoulders, which forces their necks forward and strains the cervical muscles.
Partner stunts are the leading cause of catastrophic injury in cheerleading. When a stunt goes haywire, the athletes at the top of the stunts or pyramids suffer the most. Falls onto hard gym floors, tracks, or even the grass at football fields can lead to head traumas, fractured wrists and dislocations. Some worse-case scenarios even include broken vertebra in the neck that have led to paralysis.
So how does a parent look out for their child? With prevention and hard work, that’s how.
As 
in other sports, cheerleaders should take the time to properly warm up and stretch before practice. After practice, properly cooling down can be just as important. Also, in the off-season, a conditioning program should be maintained that includes both aerobic exercise and weight lifting. Cheerleaders should also be allowed access to sports training facilities that the school provides for treatment of ankle and wrist sprains, sore muscles, or even just to tape up their wrists for added support.
The key is to identify overuse injuries early and properly manage them before they progress to something more serious. Chiropractic care is well suited to both of these tasks.
Chiropractic is a natural approach to healthcare that seeks to optimize the natural inborn healing potential within the human body. It is a clinical science that is based upon the principle that the nervous system (consisting of the brain, spinal cord, 31 pairs of spinal nerves and other sensory organs) controls and coordinates the functions of all other bodily systems. Injury to one of the key structures that surrounds and protects the nervous system – the spine – can impede the nervous system’s ability to govern the body and maintain a balance necessary for health.
As this pertains to the athlete, all body movement requires input to the brain from a type of nerve called a proprioceptor. There are literally millions – if not billions – of proprioceptors in every joint, muscle, tendon and ligament in your body. If this proprioceptive input to the brain is altered due to misalignment of the spine or by injury to the muscle or ligament, balance can be adversely affected. More missteps will begin to occur. When proprioceptive input is altered, a new sensation will take its place: pain.
Doctors of chiropractic are the only health care professionals who specialize in the process of correcting spinal misalignments with a procedure called a chiropractic adjustment. These adjustments reenergize the nervous system, reduce biomechanical stress, and optimize the athlete’s agility without the athlete having to overcome the side effects of drugs or irreversible surgeries. Some chiropractors are also specialists in adjusting or realigning the extremities as well. Extremity adjustments can greatly improve function and speed healing after a sprain or strain.
Adjustments to the spine or extremity do more than provide pain relief. They also restore proprioceptive input which helps athletes maintain better balance and body control.
Successful treatment starts with an examination of the injured athlete that identifies areas of muscle imbalance and muscle weakness. X-rays should be taken to evaluate spinal alignment. In addition to chiropractic adjustments of the spine and extremities, your doctor of chiropractic should be well-suited to provide the proper rehabilitative treatment for the injuries to fully heal.
Athletes at the high school, college and professional levels utilize chiropractic to maintain optimal physical condition as part of their regimens for keeping their athletes on the field. Many of today’s top athletes and performers have incorporated consistent Chiropractic care as a means of staying healthy and enhancing their performance. The list is long but includes Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, U.S Olympic Teams, NFL Teams and the NYC Ballet dancers.
As a chiropractor and former college sports medicine trainer, I have seen how overuse injuries occur as well as the consequences for being left untreated. I have seen athletes fail to complete a rehabilitation regimen that led to reinjury down the road that was as bad, if not worse, than the original injury. I have learned how valuable chiropractic is for an athlete, both as a means of treating an injury and preventing future injuries.
If your child has been injured in sports and is experiencing neck pain, shoulder pain, lower back pain, or pain in any of the extremities, you should call a chiropractor so that you can get back in the game.
(To view the recent news report on cheerleading please click HERE.)
Here are a few videos of basic cheerleading stunts that went wrong and could lead to some very painful injuries.
The Injury in the first video happens in the first 17 seconds of this clip.
In this video, the main injury happens to the person on the ground and not the person to get thrown in the air.
Visit Dr. Steve’s website, Integrity Chiropractic to get more information about his clinic in Canton, GA.
