An American Journal of Sports Medicine study found student-athletes who focus on one sport in high school can lead to a higher injury rate, Business Insider reports.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison examined 302 high school student-athletes, and categorized the athletes based on their specialization, or the number of sports they participated in. Of those student-athletes, 34.8 percent ranked as low specialization, 28.8 percent were moderately specialized and 36.4 percent were highly specialized.
Here are five points:
1. Researchers found only 25 percent of athletes from smaller schools were categorized as high specialization.
2. Comparatively, 48 percent of athletes from larger schools were categorized as high specialization.
3. Student-athletes categorized as high specialization were more than twice as likely as students in other specialization categories to suffer overuse knee and hip injuries.
4. Participating in a single sport for more than eight months during the year contributed to high specialization athletes' increased injury risk.
5. The researchers stated no specific sport that will keep an athlete any healthier than others.