The sport accounted for around 66 per cent of “catastrophic” injuries – those resulting in permanent disability or medical conditions – to girls, research published in the Journal of Pediatrics said.

At the college level, cheerleading, or “competitive cheer,” caused more than 70 per cent of the catastrophic injuries among females.

There were a total of 110 head and spine injuries resulting in “permanent brain injury, paralysis or death” over the last three decades. Other injuries included heart problems and heat stroke An estimated 3.6 million people take part in cheerleading in the US and four per cent of those are boys.