Cheerleading causes two-thirds of very serious sports injuries suffered by girls in the United States, a study has found. Visits to casualty resulting from high school and college cheerleading injuries rose from 4954 in 1980 to 26,786 in 2007, researchers said. The sport accounted for about 66 per cent of “catastrophic” injuries – those resulting in permanent disability or medical conditions – to girls, research published in the Journal of Pediatrics said. Most injuries were caused not to cheerleaders being thrown in the air but to those catching them.