Photo: Doug Benc Getty Images

Pyramids, back flips and basket tosses - cheerleading moves have become increasingly risky in the last 25 years. Whether or not cheerleading is done competitively, it can be very physically demanding, requiring a strong core and an escalated level of teamwork. And cheerleading injuries are on the rise. According to ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­a press release issued by the National Cheer Foundation, they now account for about 2/3 of all catastrophic injuries to high school and college female athletes. This may be explained in part by the fact that the number of cheerleaders is on the rise, too. Still you probably don't want (your child) to be the one who sustains a dislocation of a vertebra in the neck, or a fractured vertebra or skull. These types of injuries sometimes result in permanent disability or worse, death.

According to The Physican and Sports Medicine, in the 1990s back injuries made up 12% of all cheerleading injuries. Overall, gymnastic type moves resulted in the highest number, but injuries during partner stunts were the most severe.

The repeated hyperextension of the spine can result in an overuse injury called spondylolysis.

With all the risk, how do you know your child's training is safe?

Read more...

The pain of going back to school can be quite literal for students who wear back packs. Findings from a new study from the University of San Diego confirm what experts have been telling us all along - that a backpack should weigh no more than 15% of the wearer's body weight.

But researchers found that weight of the back pack was only one of the contributing factors to pain. The other was the way in which that weight, called the load, was distributed across the back. In other words, how do you wear your backpack - slung over one shoulder, perhaps? Or low down on your back?

In the study, much of the pain associated with wearing a backpack was felt in the low back, rather than the shoulders. Consistently, the shoulder pain was limited to the right shoulder only. The researchers suggest that participants with shoulder pain may have a habit of raising the right shoulder, which increases the contact with the strap on that side. They warn that this type of habit could create a long term posture problem, one that comes with persistent pain.

Experts give these pointers for wearing a backpack without the pain:

• Select a backpack that has wide straps.
• The backpack should have padding both in the shoulder straps and the pack itself (on the side that makes contact with your back).
• Both straps should be worn. In other words, slinging the pack over one shoulder can result in pain.
• Tighten the straps so that the pack does not slip down toward your lower back.
• Organize the things in the pack and keep it as light as you can.
• If the pack has a waist strap, wear it.

About.com's Walking Guide, Wendy Bumgardner has some excellent pictures and information on wearing packs without pain:

• Lighten Up Your Child's Backpack
• Pain Due to Backpacks
• Right and Wrong Ways to Wear a Backpack

Related:

• Postural Pain and What To Do About It
• Causes of Poor Posture
• The Shoulder is Related to the Neck...
• What is Low Back Pain?
• What is Ergonomics?
• Desk Exercises to Help Your Back and Neck
• How to Lift Heavy Objects Safely
• How to Gently Stretch Your Neck

_Sources:
Researchers Urge Backpack Safety Over Style for Kids. Press Release. University of San Diego, California Medical School. Released August 14, 2008.
Backpack Safety. Your Orthopedic Connection. American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons website. last update Oct. 2007. Accessed Aug. 2007.

Photo: beccaxsos 2003

The July issue of Radiology Journal features a study showing that an ultrasound of the heel can help determine if you need to be tested for osteoporosis. The study looked at over 6,000 elderly women who, regardless of their actual disease state, had never been diagnosed with osteoporosis. The special type of ultrasound, called the heel-bone quantitative ultrasound (QUS), was able to measure bone strength by calculating something called the "heel stiffness index" (basically a measure of bone strength at the heel). Doctors combined the heel stiffness index with other risk factors for osteoporosis such as age, history of fractures and any recent falls, to accurately determine which of the study participants would benefit from an osteoporosis test. Based on the heel stiffness index/usual risk factors combination, the doctors were also able to accurately determine which study participants did not need further testing.

The ultrasound is a simple test, much easier on you than an MRI, for example. The QUS may make it easier for many more people to avoid debilitating osteoporosis in the future. Osteoporosis can lead to painful spinal fractures.

Even if you don't think you are at risk for osteoporosis, remember: the best medicine is prevention. Here is a list of resources to help you get a handle on the old standbys of diet and exercise:

• Osteoporosis
• BEST Ways to Increase Bone Density
• Spinal Fractures
• Kyphosis
• Vertebroplasty
• Burst Fracture
• What is a Kyphoplasty?
• Bone Mineral Density Medication
• SERMs - Bone Mineral Density Medication
• Will eating soy strengthen your bones?
• Bone Scan - short video

_{Source:
Press Release citing: "Osteoporotic Fracture Risk in Elderly Women: Estimation with Quantitative Heel US and Clinical Risk Factors." Collaborating with Dr. Guessous were Jacques Cornuz, M.D., M.P.H. (Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland), Christiane Ruffieux, Ph.D.(University Institute of Social and Preventative Medicine), Peter Burckhardt, M.D. (Bois-Cerf Clinic, Lausanne, Switzerland), and Marc-Antoine Krieg, M.D. (Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland).}

Illustration: Anne Asher

One way to beat the heat during the summer, and really help your back is to get in the pool and get some exercise. Water takes a load off your joints, which allows you to work longer and target the core posture muscles, the ones that really help support your back.

You may be wondering what makes water exercise better than other types of back exercise programs. There are numerous benefits to exercising in the pool, from strengthening to decreased pain and exercise motivation.

| Benefits of Water Exercise | Beginner's Water Exercise Routine | Flotation Devices |