• Tweet
• Share
• Email
• Print

According to a newly released study, the most serious sports injuries among high school and college athletes are happening on the sidelines.

You might not consider cheer-leading to be a sport, but the girls with the pom-poms and pony-tails account for more catastrophic injuries than contact sports like basketball and soccer.  Dr. Stephen Storer is a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon. He says, "When we talk about catastrophic injuries, typically we refer to head and neck injuries, that can cause paralysis, brain damage or even death."

He says two-thirds of all serious injuries among female high school athletes are caused by cheer-leading accidents.

"I just saw a child with a fractured shoulder yesterday who was a flyer and she was 6 years old," he recalls.

Raquel Duncombe is a cheerleader. She admits it's a tough sport. "If comparing them to any athlete, I would compare cheerleaders to football players. We take a pounding everyday and we still bleed blue and gold."

Dr. Storer is trying to educate people about the dangers of cheer-leading, a sport where the smallest girls, called flyers, are catapulted into the air.

"Those kids are prone to impact injuries. So they can literally fall from 15 to 20 feet up onto a foam pad," Dr. Storer explains.

Unlike contact sports, Dr. Storer says cheer-leading coaches often put style over safety.  "Sometimes the coaches aren't appropriately trained to train these children," he warns.

Researchers find the most common injuries among young cheerleaders are strains and sprains. Fractures and concussions do happen, but to a lesser extent.