Note: The following post appears as my sports medicine column in
the October 25, 2012 issue of The Post and Courier. It is the
first of a three part series discussing injuries in
cheerleading. In part two, I share some statistics about
injuries, injury type and mechanisms of injury, and risk factors
for injury. In part three, I share some recommendations to
prevent injuries in cheerleading and keep athletes safe. A
policy statement released Tuesday by the American Academy of
Pediatrics offers surprising statistics regarding injuries in
cheerleading and recommendations to decrease them. Tucked deep
in the paper, though, is the most pertinent, and controversial,
argument. The American Academy of Pediatrics now calls for
cheerleading to be recognized as a sport. The NCAA does not
currently list competitive cheerleading as one of its sponsored
sports. The high school athletic associations of only 29 states
recognize cheerleading as a sport. As of 2009, approximately
400,000 athletes participated in high school ch