New data on young athletes who specialize in one sport shows there is an independent risk of injury and overuse, according to an article in The American Journal of Sports Medicine.
Researchers examined 1,190 patients for the study, with half being male and half female. The athletes were seven years old to 18 years old and recruited from two hospital-based sports medicine clinics and compared with healthy controls from affiliated primary care clinics undergoing sports physicals. The study was conducted from 2010 to 2013.
Here are five key points from the study:
1. There were 822 patients who were injured and 368 uninjured participants. The injured athletes were older than the uninjured athletes in general — 14 years old on average compared with 12.9 years old.
2. The athletes who reported injuries also reported longer total hours of physical activity and organized sporting activity. The athletes reported:
• Activity hours: 19.6 for injured athletes, 17.6 for non-injured athletes per week
• Organized sports activity hours: 11.2 for injured athletes, 6.3 for non-injured athletes per week
3. After adjusting for age and hours spent in the sporting activity per week, the researchers found those who were in sports-specialized training were at an independent risk for injury and serious overuse injury.
4. The athletes participating in more sporting hours per week than number of age in years, or those who had a ratio of organized sports to free play time that was more than 2:1 hours per week had increased odds of overuse injury.
5. The growth rates were similar between the injured and uninjured athletes. The growth rate wasn't related to injury risk, the study authors concluded.
"The study data provide guidance for clinicians counseling young athletes and their parents regarding injury risks associated with sports," concluded the authors.