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.
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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 hospital for x-rays. Even if they do not find a break, it is always a good idea to go to a specialist just to make sure. Occasionally, the staff working in the ER fail to recognize a small crack in the ankle. Depending on the severity of the break / sprain , the doctor will probably recommend that one should stay off of the ankle for anywhere from three to seven days.
Then, it is acceptable to begin to apply weight to the ankle. If it is a severe break, then a walking boot may be in need for the victim. A walking boot may be worn for up to a month before the break is fully healed. After the sprain / break is fully healed, a brace must be worn for extra support. The ligaments in the ankle have been stretched out, and the ankle is more likely to roll. As said above, the amounts of stress the ankles go through is tremendous and the ankle will never be as strong as it once was.
Another injury obtained through cheerleading is a bad back. Cheerleaders’ backs are put through a great amount of stress, as well. The bases (people who hold a girl up) often have exceptionally bad backs, not because the girls are necessarily “heavy,” but because of the stunts performed. A second cause of a bad back is tumbling. If one does not have a flexible back, which many don’t, the constant bending and snapping the back is made to do when tumbling can be extremely painful.
There is not really anything one can do a bad back. Rest is the primary way to heal a bad back, but in the world of competitive cheerleading, there is no such thing as rest. All one can really do is visit a chiropractor, stretch, and take pain medication. The outcome of having a bad back in cheerleading is having a bad back for the rest of one’s life. Once one stops participating in the sport, it may not be as painful, but the damage that has been done through years of stress is too much to take back. A third injury that occurs in cheerleading are hematomas.
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Hematoma literally translates to blood tumor, but it is basically a collection, or a pocket, of blood. Tumbling, once again, is the main cause. For example, if something goes wrong while one is tumbling and one falls, they may be falling from well above their head height. When one hits the ground, they are going to hit hard. A hematoma can be a result of this. Different treatment is needed depending on the severity and placement of the hematoma.
Sometimes the hematoma will break up on it’s own if one applies heat abundantly and rests. However, if this course of action is not working, then the hematoma may need to be drained. When it is drained, a large needle is placed in the area of the hematoma, and the fluid is removed. Over time, most of the blood will break up and remove itself from the hematoma. However, if the blood is still in the area after a year or so, chances are it will remain there. It doesn’t really cause a problem but some discomfort may arise when it is touched.
Broken ankles, bad backs, and numerous hematomas are all common injuries in the sport of cheerleading. The number of cheerleading related injuries will continue to be among the highest. For some, this is unbelievable. Some individuals believe that all cheerleaders do is wave around pom-poms and yell encouragement to football players. However, some would say that what competitive cheerleaders do presently is easily comparable to what football players do. The bar for cheerleading is being raised higher and the stunts are becoming more challenging.
Cheerleading has already made a drastic transformation and it will continue to change until cheerleaders’ bodies can no longer endure what it takes to win first place.
