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Classification, school size play role in sport specialization for high school athletes
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Investigators of this study found the specialization prevalent in high school athletes was influenced by both the classification method and the school size.
Researchers identified 302 high school athletes from two different high schools and had them complete a survey on sport specialization and a survey of injury history. Investigator used a 3-point system and self-classification method to categorize patients into either a low specialization group, moderate specialization group or a high specialization group. Correlations between sex, school year, school size and injury history were determined with chi-square tests.
Results from this study showed 105 high school athletes were classified as low specialization, 87 were classified as moderate specialization and 110 were classified as high specialization. Investigators noted athletes from a small school had a greater chance of being classified as low specialization vs. those who were from a larger school. There was a higher chance that athletes in the high specialization group would report history of overuse knee injuries compared with those in both the moderate- and low specialization groups.
According to researchers, athletes who had trained for a sport for 8 months had greater chance of reporting knee injury history, overuse knee injuries and hip injuries. High school athletes from a small school self-classified themselves more as multisport compared with those from a large school. No difference was seen between athletes who self-classified as single sport and those who classified themselves as multisport regarding hip, knee or ankle injury history. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosures: The study was supported by the Virginia Horne Henry Fund for Women’s Physical Education.
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