Stretches for Cheerleaders: Flyers and Bases
Cheerleading is a very popular sport for school teams and competition all-star teams. All-star teams are comprised of various ages, and they can be co-ed, and practice multiple days per week for competitions. As with any sport, cheerleading comes with a risk of injury. There are general trends for cheer-related injuries depending on the athlete’s role on the team: base vs. flyer.
Health Benefits of Pickleball
Pickleball is a great, low-impact sport for people of all ages that has become vastly popular in recent years. Pickleball is similar to tennis, however, it is played on specific courts with a different style paddle, ball, and rules. Pickleball offers a variety of health benefits for its players in addition to being a fun activity for many people.
Shoulder Stability for Cheerleaders
Co-author: Megan Partain, SPT
Have you ever wondered how your favorite cheerleaders spend hours tumbling, stunting, and holding each other up in the air? Well, in cheerleading, it comes down to a little more than just sheer talent but incredibly strong and stable shoulders. Athletes with decreased shoulder strength are prone to injuries like dislocations, sprains, and strains. Current research suggests that regular shoulder strengthening exercises can help prevent these types of injuries. The following exercises are recommended for tumblers and especially indicated for main and instep bases, as well as back spots.
Avoiding Wrist Pain and Injuries in Gymnastics
Gymnastics, the sport most watched in the Summer Olympics, engages viewers because of the extreme strength, balance, agility, accuracy, and endurance required to compete. Years of training tax the gymnast’s body to the utmost because movement refinement through repetition exposes the gymnast to many repetitive stress and traumatic injuries. While gymnasts range from the 5-year-old tumbler to the elite Olympian, a unique factor for this sport, no matter the level, is the requirement of using arms for weight bearing. Such compressive and twisting forces affect the entire arm, especially the wrist. Approximately 88% of gymnasts reportedly experience wrist pain according to one study.
Shoulder Instability and Athletes
Shoulder pain is the third most common pain complaint, following lower back and knee pain, with women being more likely to experience shoulder pain than men. Common causes of shoulder pain include tendon inflammation or tears, arthritis, fractures, and instability. Instability occurs when excessive shoulder mobility results in a lack of stability, often resulting in pain, popping sensation, feeling of the shoulder “giving out,” partial dislocations, weakness, and a “dead arm” feeling. Athletes who perform repeated overhead movements are at an increased risk of developing shoulder instability.
Benefits of Foam Rolling for Swimmers
After a long session of pool intervals, swimmers can greatly benefit from reaching for the foam roller to aid in recovery. Foam rolling benefits for swimmers include relieving muscle pain caused by trigger points, increasing flexibility to overtightened muscle groups, promoting relaxation post-workout, and helping the recovery process by increasing blood flow, oxygen, and lymphatic circulation.
Prevent Pickleball Injuries
Pickleball is a great, low-impact sport for people of all ages. However, injuries can still occur in a low-impact sport. To keep you on the court and playing for many more years, let’s look at some ways to prevent injuries.
Understanding Lower Extremity Injuries in Cheerleaders and Gymnasts
Cheerleading and gymnastics are incredibly demanding sports requiring strength, flexibility, and precision. Yet, they also carry a significant risk of injury, particularly in the lower extremities.
The prevalence of lower extremity injuries in cheerleading and gymnastics worldwide has increased significantly over the last decade as both sports have evolved1,2. One study, including 6-to-17-year-old gymnasts, found that the lower extremity was the most affected site of injury (60.5%), with the ankle/foot and knee joints accounting for 49% and 27% of injuries, respectively. This study also found that 10-to-12-year-olds and 13-to-17-year-olds were at greater risk for lower extremity injury due to increased growth rates compared to 6-to-9-year-olds2.
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