Cheerleaders spread school spirit during games and other school activities but cheerleading itself has become a competitive sport. In the United States, there are around 4 million cheerleaders, including 400,000 high schoolers.

1. Cheerleading: Where
Non-Contact Sports Can
Lead to Severe Injuries
Apollo Chiropractic
5525 South 900 East, Ste 310, Murray, Utah 84117
(801) 685-2862

2. Cheerleaders spread school spirit during games and other school activities but
cheerleading itself has become a competitive sport. In the United States, there are around
4 million cheerleaders, including 400,000 high schoolers.
History of Cheerleading
In the United States, cheerleading has long been closely tied to sports. In 1869, fans of
Princeton University’s and Rutgers University’s American Football game witnessed the
birth of cheerleading. Then, cheers only consisted of unified chants and yells, unlike
today, where it involves stunts, as well.
Now, cheerleaders practice just as much as the players in the basketball or football team.
Squads today require precision, athletic stamina, and flexibility to properly execute a
stunt, which is very different from what it used to be.

3. Catastrophes in Cheerleading
While cheerleading injuries are common, the frequency rates do not go higher than other
sports. However, when they do happen, cheerleading injuries are more severe.
More than half of the cheerleading injuries are strains and sprains. These are easy to
treat, as there are medications (ibuprofen and acetaminophen) and forms of therapy
(chiropractic care) available. Back injuries are also common, especially with all the
dismounting and tumbling they do. Cheerleaders who usually do extreme stunts are
prone to spondylolisthesis, which is a stress fracture to the vertebra that slipped out of
place. Surgery is possible if the condition worsens and starts affecting bowel movement.
A study published in Pediatrics back in January 2016 showed that concussions were
prevalent in cheerleading – this, taken from data following national high school sports
injury surveillance between 2009 and 2014. It accounted for 31 percent of the injuries.

4. Sources:
http://www.apollochiropractor.com/
http://cheerunion.org/history/cheerleading/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sprains-and-
strains/basics/treatment/con-20020958
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2017/01/cheerleading-injuries-less-frequent-severe/
https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pages/Cheerleading-Injuries-
Less-Common-But-More-Severe-Than-in-Most-Other-High-School-Sports.aspx
While cheerleaders boost school and team morale, it is still one of the most dangerous
sports events out there. While cheerleading injuries are expected, most of the time, they
are more severe than sports injuries. From its humble beginnings, cheerleading has
slowly evolved into the adrenaline-filled physical activity it is today.