The Cheer Athlete-with LT The Cheer PT

The Cheer Athlete-with LT The Cheer PT Health, Wellness and Exercise for Cheerleaders. Tips for Cheer Coaches. Home to the Cheer Athlete Podcast

Cheer moms ask all the time:“How can she get more flexible?”But the better question is:“Can she control the flexibility ...
02/26/2026

Cheer moms ask all the time:

“How can she get more flexible?”

But the better question is:

“Can she control the flexibility she already has?”

Flexibility without strength is unstable.
Mobility with strength is powerful.

This week’s podcast episode walks through injury red flags AND why building strength and control matters so much for recovery and prevention.

🎧 Comment CHEER ATHLETE below and I’ll send you the You Tube link

And tell me — what skill is your athlete working on right now?

02/26/2026

Cheer moms 📣 you may think your cheerleader just needs stretching exercises to help them stunt like a champion and reduce their injury risk.

📣But the truth is, you need more focus on mobility, strengthening and stability than actual stretching.

These 3 exercises will improve your all 3 for your hips, your knees and your core.

If you think your cheerleader needs better flexibility for heel stretches or jumps, save this reel,and have them try these every day.

Aim for 10 of the top per leg
Do 3 sets of 8 per leg of the middle one
Hold the bottom one for 30 seconds.

NOTHING should hurt. Stretches should be gentle.

If you’re injured make sure you check with your PT or MD before adding these in.
💪

02/23/2026

A scale to needle requires a LOT of flexibility and strength, whether you’re an Olympic gold figure skater or you’re in cheerleading.

As the Cheer PT I get that cheerleaders strive for those long lines of flexibility.

However, I think looks more solid, is cleaner, and has less strain on her lower back, which will allow her to perform for the long haul.

While I love a solid scale done well in cheer, I’m not a fan of needles. I rarely see anyone perform them without too much uncontrolled back extension.

But mad props to these athletes because they definitely are putting in the work to be able to move like they do!

And thanks to and for the inspiration. 🙏

02/21/2026

Watching a cheer event is not for the faint of heart. Especially if an athlete hits the ground or lands wrong 😑

Luckily really serious cheer injuries are not common.

But other injuries may leave you wondering, is this serious? Does my cheerleader need to sit out? If so, for how long?

The answer of course is “it depends”

First, you need to figure out
➡️Is it broken?
➡️Is it sprained?
➡️Is it a muscle pull?

🦴Bones average 6-8 weeks to heal. Loading an unhealed fracture may take longer to come back.
And just because the bone is healed doesn’t mean they will have normal motion and strength as soon as their out of their boot/cast

🦶Sprains are a tear in a ligament. They also need that time to heal, but once torn, they don’t get the same stability back. You need to strengthen the surrounding muscles which can take time.
These you can usually get back to practice sooner with bracing, BUT its important to do PT to reduce swelling, increase motion and learn progressive exercises that will rebuild stability.

💪Muscle pulls are also self limiting. If you keep pulling it (wit jumps; overuse or over stretching, it can delay healing.
Finding the reason WHY the pulled muscle happened is important to let it heal…. aka hamstrings will get pulled if the core or hip flexors are weak. Or if it was an over stretching event, the body will react and make it tighten up more.
Again, getting into PT,limiting activity that aggravates, and gradually increasing activity will help recovery happen sooner.

➡️Every injury is different and individual.
➡️Be patient and don’t rush the healing. Your body is in this for the long haul.
➡️When in doubt, breathe out.. and get checked out

Share this with your cheer mom bestie who is stressed about their cheerleader who needs to sit out due to injury.

02/20/2026

When your cheerleader falls, your brain goes straight to worst-case scenario. 😳🫣😥

“Is this serious?”
“Do we need the ER?”
“Is she going to be out all season?”

‼️Here’s what I want you to remember:

🚩 Loss of consciousness
🚩 Inability to move arms or legs
🚩 Severe pain after a fall (neck and back especially.. but also limbs that they don’t want to weight bear through)

Those are red flags. That’s when we stop everything and get medical care immediately.

❗️Like 911 immediate ❗️

The good news?
Most cheer injuries are not catastrophic.

But that doesn’t mean we ignore them either.

In my next post, I’ll talk about how to tell if an ankle-or other-injury is urgent… or something you can manage more calmly.

👇 Comment “ANKLE” if that’s something you’ve dealt with before.

If you want to know more about red flags and injuries that are serious, the injury preven starter kit has a mini course and pdf you can download. Link in bio 👆

Growth spurts can trigger knee and heel pain in cheerleaders — especially during heavy practice seasons.Osgood Schlatter...
02/19/2026

Growth spurts can trigger knee and heel pain in cheerleaders — especially during heavy practice seasons.

Osgood Schlatter’s (knee) and Sever’s (heel) are common… but they’re not random.

They happen when bones grow faster than muscles can keep up.

And stretching alone usually won’t fix it.

The solution is better movement control, stronger hips, and smarter training load.

If your athlete recently grew and now has pain, drop me a DM with KNEE or HEEL and tell me what’s going on.

And save this post — you might need it again during the next growth spurt 💛

02/18/2026

Should you take your cheerleader to see a doctor?

➡️It depends.
If they are suddenly limping , it is a good idea to have them seen, whether it was a traumatic or a growth related injury.

Sudden changes in movement could mean something is going on.

Or they could “just” be fatigued and need to rest.

In the injury prevention starter kit, you will get more info on Osgood Schlatter’s; Sever’s and other injuries…
As well as red flags that need to get checked, and warm ups and cool downs, to help reduce the pain.

Link is in the bio 👆

02/18/2026

Cheer coaches, you’re the first line of communication when cheerleaders are potentially injured.

You see how their body is reacting on a day to day basis.

This is something I talked about on this weeks Cheer Athlete Podcast.

Growth injuries like Osgood Schlatter and Sever’s may not need your cheerleaders to sit out.

BUT ⚠️
➡️if an athlete is suddenly starting to limp or is more cautious on their jumps and landings, it’s best to renin the side of caution and have them be cleared by their MD.

Kids will grow and pain that happens due to fatigue is normal.
Limping, pain that doesn’t go away at rest, and significant changes in how they are moving are not….
And getting them treated sooner will have them back full out sooner too. 😀

02/18/2026

So often I hear cheerleaders with wrist/knee/ankle/lower back pain ask for stretches for the area that they have pain.

But what most of them really need is core and hip strength..
And that includes the posterior/back core.

Use the bird dog after you stretch your calves or quads.

Try a small book or ball on your back and don’t let it fall off.

Move slowly and keep your hips level.

Make a suction cup with your hands to reduce pain.

Give it time and watch your mobility get stronger.

Do 1 set of 5 each as part of a warm up

Or 3 sets of 8-12 reps for your core strength exercise. 💪😀

02/17/2026

If you want your cheerleaders to have less wrist pain, start encouraging them to get stronger thru their back… and their grip: in neutral 😀

In this video:
➡️plank row
➡️2 arm row
➡️single arm row
➡️standing pulldown
➡️tall kneel pull down
➡️supinated hang with knee crunch

Pick one horizontal and one vertical exercise and alternate each workout….and work on keeping wrists neutral!

Your wrists will thank you and so will the judges at comps when you have clean wrists 😀

Be sure to follow for more injury prevention tips for cheerleaders 📣 💪

02/17/2026

When you grow, you may need to do work to keep your muscles moving well as the bones grow too.

And most clients I’ve worked with have needed core and hip work In addition to improving mobility in the calves and quads.

Yet both do have different symptoms.

If you have questions about your recent diagnosis of Sever’s or Osgood, I just finished recording 2 video mini series on each of these.

They’re included in the Injury Prevention Starter Kit for Cheer Parents which is being offered at its introductory price of $5 until midnight tonight. Link is in bio..

You can also get the series independent of the starter kit… comment ME below and I’ll message you with details.

When you create better movement , the rest just falls in place. 😀

If your cheerleader needs to strengthen their foot and ankle, try these exercises. Start with one foot forward, shift yo...
02/16/2026

If your cheerleader needs to strengthen their foot and ankle, try these exercises.

Start with one foot forward, shift your weight forward onto the front leg.

Then rotate the pelvis AWAY from the front leg.
➡️This creates pronation at the foot

Then step forward with the back foot, and bend the knee.
Rotate the pelvis TOWARDS the straight leg(letting the opposite knee move with you)
➡️This creates supination at the foot.

Alternate each exercise 3-5 times.

You should feel the work in the outer hip.

If your big toe is lifting, or you can’t feel the hip, try a folded hand towel under the inside knuckle of the big toe.

Like, share and save this post so you can reference the instructions.

❗️If you want to learn more ways to manage foot pain like Sever’s, grab the Injury Prevention Starter Kit before the cost goes from $5 ➡️ $27 on February 16. Link is in bio or comment Kit below and I’ll send it to you.

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01532

Website

http://LTTheCheerPT.com/

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