Sophie Neylon stayed relatively injury free until late in high school.
HOUSTON — Sophia Neylon, 21, has been in competitive cheer and acrobatics since the first grade and had been relatively injury-free until a tumbling run at the end of high school.
“I landed a little funny and heard a weird pop and kind of knew immediately that something was wrong,” she said.
She’d torn her ACL. Dr. Summer Ott is on the medical advisory committee for USA Cheer. Aside from torn ACLs…
“Some of the most common injuries we see in cheer are sprains and strains,” she said. “If you think about the athleticism that goes into cheerleading with the stunts, the tumbling, all of the jumps, there’s a lot of torque on the hips, needs, back.”
So how can cheerleaders help protect themselves?
“Stretch properly, proper nutrition, hydration so that there’s proper strength,” Ott said. “That’s also helpful.”
There’s also weight training and core strength.
“Whenever you’re tumbling, being able to hold your core in the position that it needs to be in order to punch and hit the ground correctly to get all of the right body positions,” Neylon said.
The neuropsychologist also warns concussions are often underdiagnosed in cheering.
“When people are tumbling or they’re throwing the athletes in the air, they can come down, hit someone’s body part on the way down, or maybe they’re not properly caught, and those can produce concussive injuries and cheerleaders,’ Ott said.
The UT Physicians doctor says when in doubt, sit out.
“I did physical therapy for almost two full years before I was fully back to normal,” she said.
The rising Baylor University senior is back.
“No brace, no nothing, so it’s been really exciting,” she said. “I got to compete for the first time this year, collegiately and being around orthopedic doctors for two whole years and doing all of these things has kind of inspired me a little bit.”
She’s ready to face her next challenge head on, taking a run at medical school.
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