As Cheerleading Gets Athletic, Is It Safe?

Feb. 4 -- Cheerleading was Bethany Norwood's life. She began cheering at age 4. She had won four high school cheerleading titles before going on to Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Now she's facing the prospect of being permanently paralyzed from the neck down.

"She teaches cheerleading on the side, she volunteers cheerleading, she teaches little girls," said Bobby Norwood, her father. "It's her love."

Bethany Norwood was what cheerleaders call a "base." She usually tossed and caught her teammates during stunts. But just a few weeks ago at a practice, the 22-year-old let her teammates launch her into the air in a stunt — and they weren't able to catch her.

"She was thrown up in a 'basket toss' activity, and she came down on her neck," Bobby Norwood said.

Bethany's neck was broken in six places. She must remain in a full body cast for four months, but doctors fear she will be left permanently paralyzed.

A Risky Sport

Their stunts seem to defy gravity, but the risks associated with cheerleading are growing. Cheerleading injuries accounted for 4,954 hospital visits in 1980, but in the year 2001 alone, emergency departments saw 22,603 cheerleading injuries, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

While the risk of being injured as a cheerleader is comparable to the risk of injury in other sports, more and more girls are beginning to cheer, and cheerleading is becoming more difficult.

Dr. Lisa Callahan, sports medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, said there are two different types of cheerleading: the pompom cheerleader types, and the aggressive gymnastics type, with more and more complex moves. It is this gymnastic type that is becoming more dangerous.

"Cheerleading actually has the highest average days lost per year of any sport," Callahan said. "Football has the most injuries but the injured athletes actually miss fewer days than cheerleaders who are injured."

She also said that schools should address safety issues when it comes to cheerleading. A lot of the performance happens on hardwood floors, although the practice part usually happens with soft mats underneath, Callahan said.