The Cheer Athlete

"It keeps coming back to the same spot."

If your cheer athlete keeps rolling the same ankle, it's not bad luck, and it's not "just a sprain." In this episode, I break down why ankle sprains keep coming back and what's really going on underneath: ligaments that stay loose, sensors that don't recalibrate when the pain goes away, and landings that change in ways that set her up to roll it again.

I also share the story of a client in her 30s who came to me for back pain. The real culprit turned out to be ankle sprains from her high school cheer days. You'll hear how the ankle, hip, core and even the opposite shoulder all work together.

In this episode:

• The 3 reasons ankle sprains keep coming back
• Why the hip gets weaker on the same side after repeat sprains
• How an old ankle sprain can show up as back and shoulder pain years later
• My return-to-mat checklist: what "fully rehabbed" actually means
• How long recovery takes (and why the answer is "it depends")
• Braces: when they help and when they hold your athlete back

Mentioned in this episode:

• Injury Prevention for Cheerleaders Mini Video Series ($7):
• Episode 129: From Braces to Body Control: How to Help Cheerleaders Move Smarter
• Join the free Facebook group, Mat Ready Cheer Athletes with The Cheer PT:
• Connect with Laura: https://LTTheCheerPT.com

Research referenced:

• Friel K, et al. Ipsilateral Hip Abductor Weakness After Inversion Ankle Sprain. Journal of Athletic Training. 2006;41(1):74–78.
• Yeum W-J, et al. The Influence of Hip-Strengthening Program on Patients with Chronic Ankle Instability. Medicina. 2024;60:1199.
• Gong et al. Lower extremity biomechanics in chronic ankle instability during landing (systematic review). Journal of Foot and Ankle Research. 2025.
• StatPearls: Ankle Sprain. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560619/

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. If your athlete has pain, see a physical therapist or healthcare provider.

Your most flexible flyer says her hamstrings feel tight, so she stretches more. But that tightness may be her nervous system protecting a joint that's already too loose.

Laura Turner, DPT, The Cheer PT, explains the tightness paradox, four red flags coaches miss, and simple screens to check whether your athletes can control the range they already have.

Free Flexible ≠ Strong cheat sheet:

Join the Facebook group:

Connect with Laura:

Education only, not medical advice.

Your athlete can have the perfect warm-up, programming and coaching cues, and still move like garbage. Why? What happens off the mat is running the show. Laura Turner, DPT, breaks down the 3 things nobody's screening for in cheer athletes: sleep, hydration, and stress and recovery. She covers how each one affects motor control, flexibility and injury risk, plus simple ways coaches and parents can help.

Learn to screen your athletes yourself: https://ltthecheerpt.com/matready-1518
Connect with Laura: https://LTTheCheerPT.com

Why Your Flyer Can't Stabilize: That Old Ankle Sprain Still Counts

"I sprained my ankle back in high school… but that was forever ago, so it doesn't count, right?"

It counts. Rarely is an ankle sprain just an ankle sprain. In this episode, I share two athletes from my clinic, one with knee pain and one with hip pain, whose "real" problem was hiding somewhere else. For one, a weak hip was letting the ankle roll in. For the other, a stiff ankle from an old sprain was cutting off hip extension and pushing the problem up the chain.

If you coach a flyer who used to be solid but suddenly can't stabilize, or an athlete who "rolled it a little" and jumped right back in, this one is for you.

IN THIS EPISODE:

- Why old ankle sprains still affect how your athletes move years later

- How the hip can cause ankle rolling, and how a stiff ankle can cause hip pain

- Two real clinic examples: same area, different root cause, different plan

- When to refer to physical therapy vs. when to address it in warm-ups

- Why most athletes with an old sprain don't need to sit out or wear a brace; they need to move better

WATCH THE ANKLE SCREEN:

The four movement patterns I use to screen athletes with a history of ankle sprains

MAT READY:

Learn to screen your athletes and give them the right exercises, not 1,000 exercises →

https://ltthecheerpt.com/matready-1518

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Has an athlete ever brushed off an old ankle sprain as "no big deal"? Watch for the slightest hitch in their step or a wobble in their balance. Tell me what you notice. Send me a message here or on Instagram.

CONNECT WITH LAURA:

https://LTTheCheerPT.com

Laura Turner, PT, DPT | The Cheer PT

Physical therapist, strength coach, and host of The Cheer Athlete Podcast, helping coaches, parents, and athletes reduce injuries by understanding how the body moves.

When in doubt, breathe out.

#cheerleading #cheercoach #anklesprain #flyer #cheerinjuries #physicaltherapy #movementscreen

“Squeeze! Stay tight!”

It’s one of the most common cues in cheer—but squeezing harder doesn’t necessarily create better stability.

In this episode of The Cheer Athlete, we look at what may actually be happening when a stunt keeps wobbling despite everyone trying to get tighter.

We’ll break down the flyer, bases, and back spot separately, because the same wobble can come from very different movement limitations.

You’ll learn why reflexive stability matters, what movement patterns you can watch on the ground, and how cues involving breathing, positioning, and control may be more useful than simply telling an athlete to squeeze harder.

We’ll also talk about how movement screening can help you connect what you see during a stunt with what an athlete may need to work on during warm-ups and training.

Want to start screening your athletes?

The Mat Ready 10 Minute Screen is designed to help coaches identify what may be missing and track their athletes over time. I’m currently looking for the first 30 founding users to help me build it out.

👉 LEARN MORE HERE

Connect with Laura HERE

When in doubt, breathe out.

You don’t need a PT on staff to start paying attention to how your athletes move.

In this episode of The Cheer Athlete Podcast, I walk you through a simple movement screen you can use with your team in about 10 minutes—no special equipment or certification required.

We’ll look at trunk flexion, the squat, single-leg stance, kneeling, and push-up/reverse push-up patterns. More importantly, we’ll talk about how those movements fit together.

Because an athlete who struggles with a heel stretch, jump, stunt, or squat doesn’t necessarily just need more stretching or more repetitions. The compensation you see may be part of a bigger movement pattern.

This isn't about diagnosing athletes. It's about learning to observe movement, recognize when something needs more attention, and know when pain means it's time to refer out.

I’ll also introduce The 10-Minute Screen, the tool I’m building to help coaches screen and track athletes without having to remember everything themselves.

Founding access is currently $27 for lifetime access.

👉Learn More HERE

Connect with LT HERE

Back pain can make choosing the “right” exercise feel complicated. But before you focus on the exercise, take a look at the movement.

In this episode, we bring together the movement patterns we've been discussing over the past several weeks and apply them to back pain.

What happens when you touch your toes? What happens when you lean backward? Are the hips contributing? Is the spine moving? Does one direction hurt while the other feels better?

Those observations can give you valuable clues.

We talk about:

• Back pain with flexion vs. extension
• What you can learn from touching your toes and leaning backward
• How the hips, pelvis, hamstrings, shoulders, and spine contribute to movement
• Common compensations to watch for
• Using movement to help guide warm-ups and exercise selection
• Recognizing when someone should be referred to a healthcare professional
• Why movement can look different from one day to the next

You don't have to diagnose someone to start observing how they move.

Whether you're a coach, personal trainer, clinician, cheer parent, athlete—or simply someone trying to understand your own body—learning to recognize movement patterns can help you ask better questions and make better decisions about what comes next.

Have a question? Reach out and let me know what you're seeing.

— Laura Turner, PT, DPT
The Cheer PT | Move Better

https://www.LTTheCheerPT.com

Your shoulder feels tight—but is your shoulder actually the problem?

If you have trouble reaching overhead, reaching behind your back, or keeping your shoulders relaxed during pressing movements, it’s easy to assume you simply need more shoulder mobility.

But your shoulder doesn’t move by itself.

In this episode of The Cheer Athlete Podcast, we break down shoulder mobility as part of the bigger movement picture. You’ll learn how your shoulder blade, trunk, core control, and even your opposite hip can influence what happens at your shoulder.

We’ll talk about:

• How to do a simple shoulder mobility check

• What to watch for when an athlete reaches overhead

• Why shrugging or arching the back may be a compensation

• How single-leg stability can connect to shoulder movement

• Why your warm-up should address what your body actually needs

• How movement screening can help you choose better exercises instead of simply stretching what feels tight

The goal isn’t perfect movement. It’s learning to watch how the whole body moves, recognize limitations and compensations, and then give your athlete—or yourself—the right place to start.

And remember: pain is different from a movement limitation. If a movement causes pain, stop and have it evaluated by an appropriate healthcare professional.

💬 Want to learn more about how I assess movement and turn those findings into individualized warm-ups and exercise choices? Leave a comment or reach out to me on Instagram. I’m developing a mini-course to help coaches, trainers, parents, and movement professionals learn this process.

Subscribe for more episodes as we continue putting the pieces of the movement screen together.

When in doubt, breathe out. Take life one step at a time.

Free Movement Tracker HERE

Connect with Laura HERE

Your neck feels tight—but is your neck actually the problem?

When something feels stiff, our first instinct is often to stretch it. But if you keep stretching the same area and the tightness keeps returning, it may be time to ask a different question.

In this episode, we explore neck motion as part of your entire movement system.

You'll learn what to notice when you turn your head from side to side, why range of motion is only part of the story, and how other areas of your body can influence the way your neck moves.

Most importantly, we'll talk about shifting the question from:

“What should I stretch?”

to:

“Why am I moving this way?”

Try the simple neck-motion check with me during the episode and see what you discover.

Better movement isn't about chasing every tight muscle. It's about understanding how your body works together.

Get the Movement Tracker Here

Connect with Laura on Instagram Here

More resources HERE

Your back is supposed to bend forward—but it’s also supposed to extend.

So why does reaching overhead sometimes leave you feeling tight through your shoulders or pinched in your lower back?

In this episode of The Cheer Athlete Podcast, we continue our movement-screen series by looking at trunk extension and what the entire body should be doing when you reach overhead or lean backward.

We’ll break down:

• What trunk extension should look like
• Why extension isn’t just arching your lower back
• How the thoracic spine, rib cage, pelvis, hips, shoulders, and even breathing contribute
• Common compensations like lumbar hinging, rib flare, shoulder shrugging, and breath holding
• Why a “tight shoulder” may not actually be just a shoulder problem
• How flexion and extension work together as part of a connected movement system

Most importantly, we’ll continue practicing something I want coaches, trainers, therapists, athletes, and anyone interested in movement to get better at:

Observe before you correct.

🎯 This Week’s Movement Challenge:
Watch three people reach overhead. Don’t just watch their hands. Look at the entire body.

Where does the movement begin?
What stays quiet?
What moves too much?
What surprises you?

And remember: compensation isn’t necessarily failure. It’s information.

If you want a simple way to start observing and tracking movement for yourself, your athletes, or your clients, check out the Movement Tracker If you found this episode helpful, please consider leaving a review or sharing with someone who is also interested in learning to move better.