- MONDAY, Aug. 25 (HealthDay News) — Over the past 25 years,
cheerleading accounted for two-thirds of all catastrophic sports injuries
experienced by high school and college females in the United States, a
much higher proportion than previously thought, a new report says.

Cheerleading accounted for 65.1 percent of female high school athlete
injuries and for 66.7 percent of female college athlete injuries.

It was previously believed that cheerleading accounted for 55 percent
of injuries among high school females and 59.4 percent of injuries among
college females. But the percentages increased when new data was used for
this year's report from the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury
Research, based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Center director Frederick O. Mueller, a professor of exercise and
sports science who's authored the annual report since it began in 1982,
said catastrophic injuries to female athletes have increased over the
years.

“A major factor has been the change in cheerleading activity, which now
involves gymnastic-type stunts. If these cheerleading activities are not
taught by a competent coach and keep increasing in difficulty,
catastrophic injuries will continue to be a part of cheerleading,” Mueller
said in a university news release.

Between 1982 and 2007, there were 103 fatal, disabling or serious
injuries recorded among female high school athletes. The vast majority of
those (67) occurred in cheerleading, followed by nine in gymnastics and
seven in track. During that same period, there were 39 such injuries among
female college athletes, including 26 in cheerleading, three in field
hockey and two each in lacrosse and gymnastics.

Last year, there were two catastrophic injuries among female high
school cheerleaders, compared to 10 the previous year. Among college
cheerleaders, there were three catastrophic injuries in 2007 and only one
in 2006.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about sports and exercise safety for teens.