After running through a smooth practice routine, junior Mackenzie Kannel and her team confidently got ready to perform for a two day competition in 8th Grade. While tumbling in an X formation during the competition, Kannel’s teammate stepped in the wrong spot. Her teammate’s foot hit the back of Kannel’s neck, and she was knocked out.
“I tried to get back up but I was too dizzy and I fell down again, so my coaches and all my teammates had to carry me off the mat,” Kannel said.
“I couldn’t see, I couldn’t stand up,” she said. “All my teammates were holding me in place but then the trainer came over and she said, ‘I’m not allowing her to go back out, she has serious brain damage.’”
Kannel has been cheering competitively since 6th Grade, and has continued with school cheer in high school.
“Competitively, [cheer is] a lot more of a sport,” she said. “You’re practicing three or four times a week. You’re constantly conditioning, you’re constantly doing your routines and you can’t breathe at the end of it.”
Throughout her entire time as a cheerleader, even during school cheer, Kannel has had at least four cheer related concussions, and many other injuries: a broken foot, torn ligaments off of her fibula, sprained wrist and back problems.
According to a recent New York Times article, the number of injuries from competitive cheerleaders is more significant than female athletes playing in high school and college sports combined.
“I would say on average, I’m working with at least two to three cheerleaders a week,” athletic trainer Eric Doherty said.
Doherty is contracted to come to Lafayette near the end of the day to work with athletes before practice and during games in case they have any injuries in need of tending.
Although Doherty aids all Lafayette student athletes, he says he sees more concussions from cheer than any other sports.
Among girls who cheer between the ages of 12-18 there were nearly 18,900 students who visited emergency rooms, based on USA Cheer.
The Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine says that emergency-room visits from cheer injuries have decreased, but there is still a 44% increase in concussions related to cheer. In fact, a Pediatrics journal reports that concussions during high school cheer practice was closely trailing behind football concussions. “concussions during cheer practice was second only to football among high school sports.”
“The best precautionary method is not just jumping into season but working on your stability and strength over the summer before season.” Doherty says. “A lot of forearms and grip is what they need. And then single leg movements, plyometrics would be great for them too, because that helps with ankles.”
Doherty said that if you get into the sport and you’re not prepared, you’re more likely to be at a risk for injury.
“It’s just like any other sport. If you’re malnourished or dehydrated or you’re not prepared and conditioned, you’re prone to injury. You’re not going to perform your best,” he said.
Although her concussions happened years ago, Kannel said her recovery process was one of the worst things she’s been through.
“I wasn’t allowed to go to the gym. I wasn’t allowed to be on my phone. I couldn’t watch TV, only in a dark room and sunlight or any kind of lights hurt my head and my eyes so badly. I would always feel nauseous. I felt dizzy,” she said.
A most recent injury Kannel had was the tearing of her fibula.
“A month ago, the practice before we were going to state, I came down, leaned on the side of my foot and I rolled it to the side and it popped. There was a big snap and I thought I’d broken my ankle. I never really seriously broken a bone before, but it hurt so bad. I was out for a good two or three weeks.”
Even through all of her injuries, Kannel still loves cheer because of the friends she’s made through it.
“Me and my friends have done [cheer] together for such a long time. We all just want to keep working harder and get better at skills, get better at stunts and make our program and our years at Lafayette the most special that they can be.”
