Editing Cheerleading (section)

==Injuries and accidents==
Cheerleading carries the highest rate of [[catastrophic injury|catastrophic injuries]] to female athletes in high school and collegiate sports.<ref name="Pediatrics">{{citation |last1=Labella |first1=C. R. |title=American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness. Policy statement. Cheerleading injuries: epidemiology and recommendations for prevention. |journal=Pediatrics |volume=130 |issue=5 |pages=966–971 |year=2012 |doi=10.1542/peds.2012-2480 |pmid=23090348 |last2=Mjaanes |first2=J.|author3=Council on Sports Medicine Fitness |doi-access=free}}</ref> Of the United States' 2.9 million female high school athletes, only 3% are cheerleaders, yet cheerleading accounts for nearly 65% of all catastrophic injuries in girls' high school athletics.<ref name="NCSIR 2011">{{cite web|title=Catastrophic Sport Injury Research 28th Annual Report 2011|publisher=National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research |url=http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/2011Allsport.pdf|access-date=6 November 2013|archive-date=17 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140217102905/http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/2011Allsport.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In data covering the 1982–83 academic year through the 2018–19 academic year in the US, the rate of serious, direct traumatic injury per 100,000 participants was 1.68 for female cheerleaders at the high school level, the highest for all high school sports surveyed.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2020|title=Catastrophic Sports Injury Research Thirty-seventh Annual Report Fall 1982 - Spring 2019 |url=https://nccsir.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5614/2021/05/2019-Catastrophic-Report-AS-37th-AY2018-2019-FINAL2.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=August 2, 2021|website=National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research At The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803011126/https://nccsir.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/5614/2021/05/2019-Catastrophic-Report-AS-37th-AY2018-2019-FINAL2.pdf |archive-date=2021-08-03 }}</ref> {{rp|table 9a}} The college rate could not be determined, as the total number of collegiate cheerleaders was unknown, but the total number of traumatic, direct catastrophic injuries over this period was 33 (28 female, 5 male), higher than all sports at this level aside from football.<ref name=":2" />{{rp|table 5a}} Another study found that between 1982 and 2007, there were 103 fatal, disabling, or serious injuries recorded among female high school athletes, with the vast majority (67) occurring in cheerleading.<ref>{{cite web|date=2009-06-22 |title=Evidence Soup|publisher=Evidence Soup |url=http://www.evidencesoup.com/canopener/2009/06/the-evidence-is-clear-cheerleading-is-not-for-sissies-but-the-researchers-could-do-a-much-better-job.html|access-date=2012-08-01|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328173956/http://www.evidencesoup.com/canopener/2009/06/the-evidence-is-clear-cheerleading-is-not-for-sissies-but-the-researchers-could-do-a-much-better-job.html|archive-date=2012-03-28}}</ref>

The main source of injuries comes from [[List of cheerleading stunts|stunting]], also known as pyramids. These stunts are performed at games and pep rallies, as well as competitions. Sometimes competition routines are focused solely around the use of difficult and risky stunts. These stunts usually include a flyer (the person on top), along with one or two bases (the people on the bottom), and one or two spotters in the front and back on the bottom. The most common cheerleading related injury is a concussion. 96% of those concussions are stunt related.<ref name="Pediatrics" /> Other injuries include: sprained ankles, sprained wrists, back injuries, head injuries (sometimes concussions), broken arms, elbow injuries, knee injuries, broken noses, and broken collarbones.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cheerleading Dangers |url=http://www.connectwithkids.com/tipsheet/2002/101_dec04/cheer.html |access-date=2008-11-06 |url-status=dead |website=Connectwithkids.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120141828/http://www.connectwithkids.com/tipsheet/2002/101_dec04/cheer.html|archive-date=2008-11-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=April 22, 2004|title=Dangers Of Cheerleading|work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dangers-of-cheerleading/|access-date=2008-11-06|url-status=live |archive-date=2008-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016123820/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/22/eveningnews/main613227.shtml}}</ref> Sometimes, however, injuries can be as serious as whiplash, broken necks, broken vertebrae, and death.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Boden |first1=Barry P |last2=Tacchetti |first2=Robin |last3=Mueller |first3=Frederick O |date=November 1, 2003 |title=Catastrophic Cheerleading Injuries |journal=The American Journal of Sports Medicine |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=881–888 |doi=10.1177/03635465030310062501 |pmid=14623653 |s2cid=34310970}}</ref>

The journal ''[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]]'' has reportedly said that the number of cheerleaders suffering from [[Bone fracture|broken bones]], [[concussion]]s, and [[sprain]]s has increased by over 100 percent between the years of 1990 and 2002, and that in 2001, there were 25,000 hospital visits reported for cheerleading injuries dealing with the shoulder, ankle, head, and neck.<ref>{{cite web|title=Health Warnings for Cheerleading|url=http://drbenkim.com/blog/2006/01/dangers-of-cheerleading.html|access-date=2008-11-06|archive-date=2008-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122002141/http://drbenkim.com/blog/2006/01/dangers-of-cheerleading.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, in the US, cheerleading accounted for 65.1% of all major physical injuries to high school females, and to 66.7% of major injuries to college students due to physical activity from 1982 to 2007, with 22,900 minors being admitted to hospital with cheerleading-related injuries in 2002.<ref name="IE300609">{{cite news|date=2009-06-30|title=High risks for girls who high kick|page=9|work=[[Irish Examiner]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=August 11, 2008|title=Girls' Most Dangerous Sport: Cheerleading |url=http://www.livescience.com/health/080811-cheerleading-injuries.html|access-date=May 5, 2010|publisher=LiveScience.com|archive-date=December 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201190731/http://www.livescience.com/health/080811-cheerleading-injuries.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The risks of cheerleading were highlighted at the death of Lauren Chang. Chang died on April 14, 2008, after competing in a competition where her teammate had kicked her so hard in the chest that her lungs collapsed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Newton North grad dies in cheerleading accident |url=http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/regional_editions/globe_west/west/2008/04/_the_cheerleadi.html |access-date=19 November 2017|website=Boston.com|archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305142004/http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/regional_editions/globe_west/west/2008/04/_the_cheerleadi.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Cheerleading (for both girls and boys) was one of the sports studied in the Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education and Research Program of the [[Colorado School of Public Health]] in 2009/10–2012/13.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education and Research Program|publisher=[[Colorado School of Public Health]] |url=http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research/ResearchProjects/piper/projects/RIO/Pages/Study-Reports.aspx |access-date=October 14, 2013|url-status=live |archive-date=July 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715001321/http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research/ResearchProjects/piper/projects/RIO/Pages/Study-Reports.aspx}}</ref> Data on cheerleading injuries is included in the report for 2012–13.<ref>{{cite web|author1=R. Dawn Comstock |author2=Christy L. Collins |author3=Dustin Currie |year=2013|title=Convenience Sample Summary Report : National High Scholl Sports-related Injury Study : 2012-2013 School Year|publisher=Colorado School of Public Health |url=http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research/ResearchProjects/piper/projects/RIO/Documents/2012-13%20Convenience%20Sample.pdf|access-date=October 14, 2013 |pages=181–187|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201701/http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research/ResearchProjects/piper/projects/RIO/Documents/2012-13%20Convenience%20Sample.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>