Sports medicine stats: Early sport specialization and the risk for overuse injuries
Dr. David Geier is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. He helps athletes and active people feel and perform their best, regardless of age, injuries and medical history. He has been featured in major media publications and shows over 2,500 times throughout his career.
A new study reveals the more specialized an athlete, the greater the risk of injury. A study of 1190 young athletes, aged 7 to 18 years old, compared training patterns of injured athletes at sports medicine clinics versus uninjured athletes during a sports preparticipation exam. It reveals those athletes who met the definition of a highly specialized athlete had 2.25 greater odds of having sustained a serious overuse injury than an unspecialized young athlete, even when accounting for hours per week of sports exposure and age.
Source: American Journal of Sports Medicine, April 2015
Through the stories of a dozen athletes whose injuries and recovery advanced the field (including Joan Benoit, Michael Jordan, Brandi Chastain, and Tommy John), Dr. Geier explains how sports medicine makes sports safer for the pros, amateurs, student-athletes, and weekend warriors alike.
athletes at sports medicine clinics versus uninjured athletes during a sports preparticipation exam. It reveals those athletes who met the definition of a highly specialized athlete had 2.25 greater odds of having sustained a serious overuse injury than an unspecialized young athlete, even when accounting for hours per week of sports exposure and age.