Head and neck injuries in cheerleading

International Conference on Physical Education, Sports Medicine and Doping Studies

August 08-09, 2018 Osaka, Japan

Jade Nicolette Chee Zhenhui

Changi Sports Medicine Centre, Singapore

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Sports Med Dop Stud

Abstract :

Introduction & Aim: Cheerleading injuries in the United States have been increasing steadily over the past few decades. The number of catastrophic injuries related to cheerleading has increased from 1.5 per year from 1982 to 1992 to 4.8 per year from 2003 to 2009. One study reports that more days were lost per injury in cheerleading compared to any other sport. A detailed study with 9022 US cheerleaders from 412 teams was performed in 2009. Till date, no similar studies have been conducted to evaluate the rate, types and mechanisms involved in injuries sustained by the varsity cheerleading population in Singapore. This study aims to specifically evaluate the incidence of head and neck injuries in our local Varsity cheerleading population. Methods: A total of 111 cheerleaders across 5 local cheerleading teams were recruited from 5 teams across polytechnic, university and open teams which participated in the 2017 National Cheerleading Championships in Singapore. Participant exposure and injury data were collected. Results were analyzed using SPSS, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. Results: 12 cheerleaders (31.6%) sustained head injuries of which 4 (10.5% of total) were female and 8 (21.1% of total) were male. 2 cheerleaders (5.3%) injured either the cervical or thoracic spine, both of whom were female. There were no significant associations between the gender of the cheerleader and the body part injured. There were also no significant associations between body part injured and maneuver attempted. Head and neck injuries were not significantly more common than other injuries sustained in cheerleading. Conclusion: The incidence of head injuries and cervical or thoracic spine injuries in the cheerleading population was not significant in our population as compared to injuries to other body parts.

Biography :

Jade Nicolette Chee Zhenhui has graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelors’ degree of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) in 2012 and is currently in pursuing Family Medicine Residency training. She has a keen interest in sports medicine.

E-mail: jade.chee@gmail.com