Answer: HOPE THIS HELP'S! Even more sobering is the fact that in the period from 1982 to 2005, there were 104 catastrophic injuries for high school and college female athletes ("catastrophic" usually means head and spinal trauma, sometimes leading to death). More than half of those were the result of cheerleading activities. The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research study proved that cheerleading is certainly the most dangerous sport for women; more dangerous, in fact, than all the other women's sports combined.
However, while that injury rate by percentage does make the sport seem more dangerous than football in one sense, the statistics all show that football players are far more likely to actually die from a sports-related injury than cheerleaders. Also, in a ratio of injury-to-participants, cheerleading doesn't even rank in the top seven most dangerous sports.
Don't Ask "Is Cheerleading More Dangerous Than Football" - Ask "Why?"
While the question of comparing cheerleading to football is dependent on perception, it can't be denied that it is dangerous, and is becoming more so. The question really should be "Why? And what can be done about it?"
Researchers point to several factors that have contributed to the dramatic increase in injuries.
Many talented young gymnasts have moved from youth competition into the world of cheerleading, and with that advanced skill set have pushed the sport far beyond simple pom-shaking on the sidelines.
Coaches for cheerleading squads usually have little or no training in safety and stunts beyond what they've learned from experience. At times, cheer squads attempting dangerous stunts are coached simply by other cheerleaders.
Cheerleaders are asked to perform at more and more events, and on many different surfaces including cement and gravel.
Cheerleaders are encouraged to be ultra-competitive, and this drives them to higher and more dangerous stunts.
Explanation: HOPE THIS HELPS
