Pompoms, Pyramids and Peril

For decades, they stood by safe and smiling, a fixture on America’s sporting sidelines. But today’s young cheerleaders, who perform tricks once reserved for trapeze artists, may be in more peril than any female athletes in the country.

Emergency room visits for cheerleaders have more than doubled in the country since the 90's and this has apparently startled researchers. Out of 104 injuries to female high school and college athletes from 1982 to 2005, over half were from cheerleading. They are performing more and more dangerous stunts and that is why the numbers are climbing. All things considered, there are well over 4 million females cheering all kinds of sports. They get thrown super high and sometimes are not caught. The acrobatics just get more outrageous. After this report, many will tone it down, I'm sure...It's just not worth it. Who wants to be crippled for a sport. And they are on the sidelines.