Children's Hospital of Philadelphia doctor has a mission to make cheerleading safer with a new competition
Making cheerleading safer is the mission of a brain surgeon at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. This doctor is an expert in traumatic brain injuries, something that's a risk with cheerleading.
She's also founded a new kind of cheering competition.
Cheerleading is reaching new heights at the Talent Tumbling & Training Center in Blackwood, New Jersey, with something called partner stunting.
A CHOP neurosurgeon and her two daughters are in the middle of the action.
"I do a lot of traumatic brain injury research in my actual job and so people are always asking me, 'Don't you get nervous?' like seeing them do this," said Dr. Shih-Shan Lang Chen.
She said no, she's not overly worried as long as the right precautions are in place.
"It's not a sport that should be dangerous if taught and supervised the right way," said Chen.
The American Academy of Pediatrics said about 3.5 million youngsters, mostly girls participate in cheerleading. There are an estimated 35,000 injuries each year, 31% are concussions.
Chen hopes to lower those numbers by spreading awareness about the importance of safety and training.
"No sport is going to be 100% safe," she said.
Statistics show cheering is less dangerous than many other sports but still carries a risky reputation. Chen said it's a good exercise that can also help build resilience, self-confidence and camaraderie.
"It's no different than any sport but you have to trust your coach, you have to learn the right way and you have to make it as safe as possible or else nobody would do any sports," she said.
Chen knows all about taking on difficult challenges. Being among just 8% of women who are brain surgeons, and now she's on a new mission creating the Stunt Showdown: a competition that will benefit Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
"It brings a platform where people can come together not just for their love of stunting but also for their love of charity and giving back to especially kids," she said.
The Stunt Showdown: Stunting Stronger event is on Saturday, Dec. 21 at Haverford College. About 50 athletes from all over the country have registered to compete.
