Cheerleading Safety in Perspective

From AACCA Online

In "The Physician and Sportsmedicine" (Vol. 26, No. 9, Sept. 97), Mark R. Hutchinson, M.D. cites his own 1993 study of seven high schools in Kentucky as the basis for reporting that cheerleaders face more severe injuries than football. Other publications are misrepresenting this report by using this "severity statistic" as the title of attack articles. The problem lies with the use of  the term "severity". Dr. Hutchinson defines "more severe" in terms of time lost to injury, not in the degree of severity of the injury itself.    This information, if it is included in the associated articles at all, is buried deep in the print. It is not qualified in the title of the article, leaving the average reader to assume the more common use of the term, that a compound fracture is more severe than a hairline fracture.

Dr. Hutchinson himself notes that even this "time lost" disparity is most likely due to the fact that cheerleading requires the use of all of the extremities, and that unlike a football player, a cheerleader cannot simply tape up a sprain or play in a wrist cast. The opening "In Brief" paragraph of his article reads as follows:

"Compared with other sports, cheerleading carries a relatively low risk of injury [emphasis added], but the injuries that do occur tend to be relatively severe in terms of time lost. The most common injury site is the ankle, with head and neck injuries less common but more severe. Two case reports illustrate overuse and acute injuries typical of the sport. Cheerleading injuries have been attributed to lack of experience, inadequate conditioning, insufficient supervision, difficult stunts, and inappropriate surfaces and equipment. Prevention recommendations are included."


National injury estimates clearly show that compared to other athletic activities, cheerleading has one of the lowest occurrences of injury that leads to an emergency room visit. The 1996 U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS)* shows that cheerleaders face a much lower risk of injury than other athletic activities:  The following data are for ages 5 - 24 for comparison:

* Football - 514,443
* Basketball - 326,073
* Soccer - 130,000
* Gymnastics - 29,132
* Cheerleading - 18,285


Dr. Hutchinson’s findings, that cheerleading is a relatively safe activity that requires athletic skill, proper supervision and training, are true. The headlines that cheerleading is more risky or that injuries are more severe are a misuse of the data available. In fact, the statistics show that cheerleading is one of the safest athletic activities available to young people.

In addition, those that say they want to further restrict the already regulated activity of cheerleading because of safety concerns are not consistent across the spectrum of high school athletics. They say cheerleaders do not need stunts to perform their fundamental function -- that of leading the crowd. If that is the case, then football players do not need to tackle in order to perform the fundamental objectives in football -- to cross the goal line with the ball. Flag Football would accomplish this, and it would still use all of the strategy and skill that football requires. Those that would remove stunts from cheerleading for "safety reasons" would not think of taking the most dangerous part of football - tackling - from the game.

*Caution: NEISS data and estimates are based on emergency department patient records that mention a consumer product or a recreational activity in association with an injury. Therefore, when using NEISS data, it is incorrect to say the injuries were caused by the product.