WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather & SportsIs Cheerleading More Dangerous Than Football?

Is Cheerleading More Dangerous Than Football?

(NBC/WRCB) - You might not even consider cheerleading to be a sport, but the girls with the pom-poms and pony-tails account for more catastrophic injuries than basketball, soccer and even football.

"When we talk about catastrophic injuries, typically we refer to head and neck injuries that can cause paralysis, brain damage or even death," said Dr. Stephen Storer, pediatric orthopedic surgeon.

Storer is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Joe Dimaggio Children's Hospital. He says two-thirds of all serious injuries among female high school athletes are caused by cheerleading accidents.

"I just saw a child with a fractured shoulder yesterday who was a flyer, and she was 6 years old," said Storer.

Storer is trying to educate people about the dangers of cheerleading, a sport where the smallest girls, called flyers, are catapulted into the air.

"Those kids are prone to impact injuries, so they can literally fall from 15 to 20 feet up onto a foam pad," said Storer.

It's hard to believe that the girls on the sidelines are more injury-prone than the guys smashing into each other on the field, but remember, they're wearing pads and helmets. Plus, Storer says cheerleading coaches often put style over safety.