All-Star Cheering With An Injury

[HeatUniqueJ]

This has probably been discussed before but i didn't find a thread so i decided to open a new one.
I recently came across a parent on Facebook seemingly proudly posting about how their child is practicing with an injury. I have practised with injuries before, but i am an adult and i am learning from my mistakes now, it all comes back to you in the end , your body doesn't forgive these kind of things. So shouldn't we keep our children and athletes from going to practice with injuries? And i am not talking about a broken off fingernail or a little bruise but more severe things. I feel like in our sport, a lot of people think it's cool or extra tough if you show up to practice and stunt and tumble even though you really shouldn't and would better be sitting on the bench for a few practices because it will cause severe damage in the long run.
Opinions?

 

[CaliChar]

This has probably been discussed before but i didn't find a thread so i decided to open a new one.
I recently came across a parent on Facebook seemingly proudly posting about how their child is practicing with an injury. I know i have practised with injuries before, but i am an adult and i am learning from my mistakes now, it all comes back to you in the end , your body doesn't forgive these kind of things. So shouldn't we keep our children and athletes from going to practice with injuries? And i am not talking about a broken off fingernail or a little bruise but more severe things. I feel like in our sport, a lot of people think it's cool or extra tough if you show up to practice and stunt and tumble even though you really shouldn't and would better be sitting on the bench for a few practices because it will cause severe damage in the long run.
Opinions?

At the first gym I ever went to, if anybody ever showed up with an injury they would feel pressured to practice in pain no matter how much it hurt. The coaches were very into the whole "do it for the team" and "put the team before you" aspect. As a coach now, I realize how important it is to have the balance of doing what is right for the team but still thinking about yourself and your health in the long run. If any of my athletes get hurt I always listen to what their doctors have said concerning the injury. If a doctor says it's okay to mark through the routine with the team, I'll have the athlete do so. If the doctor wants the athlete to sit out and heal, the athlete will do so. As a coach (and even as a parent) you have to understand it isn't always the best to have an athlete practicing 24/7 or there can be bigger consequences than there are in the first place.

 

[Twinklestars]

I think that with a lot of injuries, by continuing to practice, the risk of further injury is far greater than many realize.

Your body will move differently to try to compensate for injured areas. I have noticed that if my right ankle hurts that I will change my gait and get pain in my left hip and knee.

I will encourage working through minor aches and pains, but real injuries usually need to some time to heal first.

 

[Official OWECheer]

This has probably been discussed before but i didn't find a thread so i decided to open a new one.
I recently came across a parent on Facebook seemingly proudly posting about how their child is practicing with an injury. I have practised with injuries before, but i am an adult and i am learning from my mistakes now, it all comes back to you in the end , your body doesn't forgive these kind of things. So shouldn't we keep our children and athletes from going to practice with injuries? And i am not talking about a broken off fingernail or a little bruise but more severe things. I feel like in our sport, a lot of people think it's cool or extra tough if you show up to practice and stunt and tumble even though you really shouldn't and would better be sitting on the bench for a few practices because it will cause severe damage in the long run.
Opinions?

Warrior culture. Some girls will compare injuries and try to one-up each other. "I tore my ACL!"

"Well I tore mine twice!"

"Psh! Please, I broke my neck!"

Meanwhile their bodies are suffering.

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

Unfortunately I am one of those people who always pushes through i juries and now I have been told I can't cheer for a while due to my back going into spasm.

I learnt to rest but the issue with me is I want to be able to do everything that I cant do so I push myself.

My old coach said that people on the team towards nationals were really pushing too hard through injuries and each practice always made people sit down if they looked in pain or sorted a niggle out( she was a chiropractor)

 

[seein_starz]

I've not only practiced but competed with a broken arm (twice) and a broken foot and back injuries. I knew I was needed on my team for these competitions so I pushed through it, so I took it easy at home and school and at practice as much as I could so I could be ready for the comp and be there for my team. But my coaches are also the type of coaches to make you practice with an injury unless you have a doctors note. I remember constantly hearing "if you're hurt take ibuprofen and ice it" from my coaches and all I was thinking is this is not going to heal my injury and it will also destroy my liver and kidneys. But this season I am not competing because I need a break for my body. I've been off of cheer for 4 months and next week I'm starting tumbling classes twice a week. I think it's okay to practice or compete with these injuries as long as you have time to let them heal and you take care of them.

 

[seein_starz]

Warrior culture. Some girls will compare injuries and try to one-up each other. "I tore my ACL!"

"Well I tore mine twice!"

"Psh! Please, I broke my neck!"

Meanwhile their bodies are suffering.

I saw this and all I could think of was my best friend on my team last year. She tore both of her acls and her meniscus. She tore one of them at my teams "summit showcase" and she couldn't compete and her doctor told her she could stunt for knee strengthening exercises and she tore the other one because her flyer fell on her wrong and now she needs 2 surgeries and is out until July next year

 

[Official OWECheer]

I saw this and all I could think of was my best friend on my team last year. She tore both of her acls and her meniscus. She tore one of them at my teams "summit showcase" and she couldn't compete and her doctor told her she could stunt for knee strengthening exercises and she tore the other one because her flyer fell on her wrong and now she needs 2 surgeries and is out until July next year

That is entirely TOO MUCH damage for a young body to suffer. Not to mention expensive.

 

[seein_starz]

That is entirely TOO MUCH damage for a young body to suffer. Not to mention expensive.

I don't think she should've even been practicing with the first acl. And I feel awful because she pushed herself more than anyone I have ever seen to get new skills and make a level 5 for her last year eligible for a senior team. She made the level 5 and now can't compete.

 

[HeatUniqueJ]

The ''take an ibuprofen and go '' mentality is very common, i've been there and done that, but i am paying for it now, there is not a day in my life without pain, caused by the cears of high intensity sports. I am not a coach who lets their athletes stay at home bc of a bruise or some other minor issue, but if they have a fracture, tear or anything else more severe, they will not stunt, tumble or jump, period. If they can walk they can do formations but that's it.
It's just funny to me whenever i hear professional athletes taking a break because of a minor strain , and then there is us Cheerleaders competing with broken bones, torn ligaments or other more severe injuries. And parents promoting this on social media.
And we are not even considered a sport. Makes me thing about whether we are really heading in the right direction.

 

[cheermomforever]

A little injury and out for a few weeks can easily turn to something major and out for the season if not taken care of properly. I am sure many athletes have pushed thru it because they do not want to let their team down!

 

[seein_starz]

I've not only practiced but competed with a broken arm (twice) and a broken foot and back injuries. I knew I was needed on my team for these competitions so I pushed through it, so I took it easy at home and school and at practice as much as I could so I could be ready for the comp and be there for my team. But my coaches are also the type of coaches to make you practice with an injury unless you have a doctors note. I remember constantly hearing "if you're hurt take ibuprofen and ice it" from my coaches and all I was thinking is this is not going to heal my injury and it will also destroy my liver and kidneys. But this season I am not competing because I need a break for my body. I've been off of cheer for 4 months and next week I'm starting tumbling classes twice a week. I think it's okay to practice or compete with these injuries as long as you have time to let them heal and you take care of them.

I just remembered I actually competed in my boot with the broken foot. Only stunted of course

 

[mollymags]

I know that as an athlete I always wanted to push through injuries and avoid the doctor because I hated sitting out. As a coach, I'm so willing to baby those kids with serious injuries because I'd rather have them out for a few weeks than out for the season or forever.

We require a doctors note to sit out for more than a practice, and a doctors note to come back to practice. My first year coaching, I had a mom threaten to sue me personally because her child re injured herself when I made her practice after the release date on her original doctors note had passed (mom hadn't told me anything about her not being able to practice... This was a mini 1 and she re hurt herself by doing a BWO). We started requiring a new note stating that they were released after that.

It can be really hard to judge as a coach, because there are kids who will never complain if they're in pain and push themselves until the injury has them out for months, and other kids who request ice packs literally every practice for any little bump. Sometimes you can't figure out if a kid is truly hurt or if they're just milking it, especially if they're a particularly lazy child.

 

[WinstonsGirl]

I'm very lucky in that I've never had a truly serious injury (knock on wood). Once, I tore up my ankle tumbling. After a couple of weeks, I could walk, stunt, etc., but I didn't jump or tumble in practice. I did jump at competition though, with a lot of tape and some pain. I've also torn up my calf, but it was during spring training, so fortunately it didn't interfere with competitions, just tumbling again.

I think a lot of kids push back too early thinking they need to, and don't realize the long term damage they're doing by not giving time to rest. It's much easier for us adults to know when we've pushed too far and when we can start to come back.

I also think a lot of kids are treated incorrectly with injuries. So many kids need ice for every little bump that when they're seriously injure, they're not taken seriously. I've had kids tell me they can't put any weight on their foot, hoop all the way to the office for ice and fall full weight onto their foot with no notice, yet they're a "10" out of 10 on the pain scale. When those kids get truly injured, people don't take it as seriously. Other kids can hide it so well that you'd have no idea if they lost an arm cos they'd keep going. But that is another topic I think

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

I know that as an athlete I always wanted to push through injuries and avoid the doctor because I hated sitting out. As a coach, I'm so willing to baby those kids with serious injuries because I'd rather have them out for a few weeks than out for the season or forever.

We require a doctors note to sit out for more than a practice, and a doctors note to come back to practice. My first year coaching, I had a mom threaten to sue me personally because her child re injured herself when I made her practice after the release date on her original doctors note had passed (mom hadn't told me anything about her not being able to practice... This was a mini 1 and she re hurt herself by doing a BWO). We started requiring a new note stating that they were released after that.

It can be really hard to judge as a coach, because there are kids who will never complain if they're in pain and push themselves until the injury has them out for months, and other kids who request ice packs literally every practice for any little bump. Sometimes you can't figure out if a kid is truly hurt or if they're just milking it, especially if they're a particularly lazy child.

I got chinned in the head by a flyer when I was front spotting. I fel to the ground and stayed there as my head was spinning. One of my coaches thought I was fine the other looked at my stunt group and saw them concernced as i have be kicked and landed on so many times I normally continue but didnt the coach came to me and saw I had a golf ball sized lump on my head I had to sit out but I wanted to keep going. Sometimes the coach gets it wrong but my old coaches normally gauged it pretty well.

But also I gauged off my coaches when to stop and not to stop because all of them competed for higher level teams 2 of them were level 5 they always oushed through in juries so in my head I was like they are injured and doing level 5 so it will be ok to practice being injured as im doing level 2