Injuries in Competitive Cheerleading

Competitive Cheerleading

Cheerleading A team of athletes work together to create a routine. Routine includes tumbling, stunting, and dancing. Takes practice and strength to train your body to bend and flip in certain ways. 3 Most Common Injuries : ankle sprains, head injuries, and wrist injuries

Concussions Possible temporary unconsciousness caused by a body, fall, or object causing the brain to shake in the skull. Not always unconscious, sometimes just delayed responses. In cheerleading they are most likely caused by body collisions or falling from stunting and or tumbling.

Signs & Symptoms Athlete will experience; headaches, nausea, blurred vision, dizziness, and sensitive to or light/ sound. AT looks for; slowed responses, lack of memory, and other delayed reactions.

Effects Concussions cause temporary loss of brain function. Athletes create a bigger risk of long term injury if they continue to play while being injured. Repeated concussions can cause dementia like symptoms, causing disorder of mental processes. Concussions affect anyone involved in high contact sports.

Diagnosis of Injury Doctors look for changes in the brain Testing is required to look at changes in vision, hearing, and coordination or reflexes. Impact tests are performed to determine how fast / slow the brain processes information. MRI / CT scans

Treatment / Rehabilitation Physical and mental rests No physical activities, shortened school / work Imaging tests used to see any further damage to brain or skull Once patient begins to feel strong enough mentally and physically they may return back to activities with doctor’s approval.

Prevention Wear protective headgear while playing high contact sports Heads Up Tackling Program: Program that teaches younger athletes, like youth football players, how to tackle opponents safely without direct contact to head to avoid risk of concussions.

Works Cited Concussion Legacy Foundation. (n.d.). Concussions in Sports. Retrieved from URL. Mayo Clinic. (2017, February 10). Concussions. Retrieved from URL. Healthline. (2017, March 15). Concussion: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention. Retrieved from URL.