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Document Title: Schulz-AJSM-Mar04
Article Title: A Prospective Cohort Study of Injury Incidence and Risk Factors in North Carolina High School Competitive Cheerleaders
Authors: Mark R. Schulz, PhD, Stephen W. Marshall, PhD, Jingzhen Yang, MPH, Frederick O. Mueller, PhD, Nancy L. Weaver, MPH and J. Michael Bowling, PhD
Publication: American Journal of Sports Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Date: March-April 2004
Volume 32, Number 3, pages 396-405
(Figures included. Reference-denoting numbers appear in the same point size as the document text.)
The author notes that a number of studies have identified cheerleading injuries as being "unusually severe". The high-elevation stunts and pyramid means that falls involve considerable height, and this translates into increased kinetic energy (again, kinetic energy increases with the square of speed).
ABSTRACT
Background: Cheerleaders suffer nearly half of catastrophic injuries observed in female scholastic athletes in the United States. However, incidence of noncatastrophic injury in this population has not been described.
Hypothesis: Coach, athlete, and injury circumstance variables may predict the injury rate among cheerleaders.
Study Design: Prospective cohort.
Methods: The authors investigated injury incidence in a sample of North Carolina female cheerleaders who competed inter-scholastically from 1996 to 1999. Injury, exposure, and demographic data were collected from squads that participated in the North Carolina High School Athletic Injury Study.
Results: Cheerleaders suffered 133 injuries during 1701 athlete seasons. More than 21% of the injuries were ankle sprains. The injury rate was 8.7; the 95% confidence interval (CI) was 6.5 to 11.7 per 10,000 athlete exposures. In a multivariate Poisson regression model, cheerleaders supervised by coaches with the most education, qualifications, and training (coach EQT) had a nearly 50% reduction in injury risk (rate ratio [RR], 0.5; 95% CI, 0.3–0.9), and cheerleaders supervised by coaches with medium coach EQT had a nearly 40% reduction in injury risk (RR = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.3–1.2) compared to cheerleaders supervised by coaches with low coach EQT.
Key Words: athletic injuries • epidemiology • cheerleading • risk • Poisson regression
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