A coach shares what she’s learned about ACL injuries in this two-part series.
by Emily Smith
CBN Aug/Sept 2010
Emily Smith has been coaching advanced tumbling and cheerleading since 1993 and is currently a co-owner of Midwest Panther All Stars in Dublin, OH. After her daughter Buzzy Biddinger tore her ACL, Smith developed a set of drills to decrease the risk of these kinds of injuries to cheerleaders.
Q: Why is the ACL so important to cheerleaders?
A: You may not need your tonsils or appendix, but you do need your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The ACL is one of four major knee ligaments and is critical to knee stability. If it’s seriously damaged or torn, it won’t be safe to tumble, jump or base.
Q: What happens when an athlete tears her ACL?
A: A cheerleader will need to do serious rehab on her knee or possibly even have surgery, depending on the severity of the injury and the physician’s recommendation. When it comes to ACL tears, a surgeon can’t just stitch up the old one and declare the athlete healed. During ACL surgery, the patient receives a new ACL (some are given the ligament from a cadaver). In some cases, the surgeon will remove part of the patient’s hamstring tendon and use it to construct a brand new ACL.
Q: What is the surgery like?
A: ACL surgery can be very painful. Because Buzzy had part of her hamstring removed, her entire leg, not just her knee, throbbed for days after the surgery. She ended up missing six days of school and had the stitches removed a week later. Most ACL patients will need to use crutches for one to three weeks.
Q: How long before an athlete can go back to cheering after ACL surgery?
A: It can take a lot of work and discipline to recover from ACL surgery and get back on the blue mat. The leg muscles shrink after surgery because the athlete cannot run, jump, tumble or lift weights during the recovery process. Buzzy was permitted to do arm motions three months after surgery. She started basing stunts six months after surgery. She wasn’t released to tumble until nine months to a year after surgery.
Q: What can cheerleaders do to decrease their chances of getting an ACL injury?
A: Athletes can follow a few simple rules to help keep them safer and decrease their chances of getting a serious knee injury.
Rule 1: Use proper form during tumbling.
Rule 2: Land with feet together on jumps.
Rule 3: Increase inner and outer hip strength (to stabilize the knees).
Rule 4: Increase hamstring strength to balance out the quadriceps.
Rule 5: Don’t work on skills that you’re not ready to perform.
*In Part II of this series, Smith lays out drills, exercises and tips to help prevent ACL injuries.
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