A-12 The Impact of Injury Mechanism and Skill on Concussion in School and All Star Cheerleaders

Abstract

Purpose Previous research determined that sports-related concussions (SRC) occurred at higher rates in cheerleading club practices compared to school practice. The purpose of the current study was to determine if mechanism of injury and skill during which injury occurred impacted symptom reporting and overall recovery days in school and All Star cheerleaders. Methods This study was a retrospective comparison of 101 female cheerleaders (aged 8-18 years) evaluated in a specialty concussion clinic and diagnosed with SRC from 2020-2023. Cheerleaders were stratified based on type of cheer, mechanism of injury, and skill during which they were injured. Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS) total score and recovery time in days were compared for each group. Chi square and factorial analyses were used. Results Most concussions occurred during stunting incidents (76.2%) with higher rates for school cheerleaders (43.6%) compared to All Star (32.7%). Tumbling incidents accounted for 11.9%, with higher rates for All Star (7.9%) compared to school cheerleaders (4.0%). Head to ground contact (49.5%) and head to body contact (42.6%) were the most reported mechanism of injury, with school cheerleaders having slightly higher rates (28.7%; 21.8%) compared to All Star cheerleaders (20.8%; 20.8%) respectively. School cheerleaders who suffered a SRC through head-to-head contact had significantly higher PCSS scores (P= 0.39) compared to other mechanisms across groups. Conclusions A majority of the SRCs in cheer athletes resulted from head to ground and head to body contacts. The results suggest that cheerleaders suffer higher rates of SRC when participating in stunting activities compared to other cheerleading skills. Future research examining the trajectory of recovery following SRC suffered in cheerleading, will identify the need for skill-specific protocols.