In a study conducted by Dr. Marc Philippon, he found that 48% of hockey players have some degree of labral tears by the age of 12. This increases by over 80% at the age of 15. By the age of 19, 93% of hockey players will have some degree of labral tears. Dr. Philippon concluded that this is largely caused by playing the same sport “day after day, year after year.”
Over the last ten years or so, hockey has become a year-round sport. To a great extent, this is due to people putting in the minds of players and their families that the player will fall behind if they take a break from the ice. Typically, the same people that promote this also profit off of it.
This, of course, does not solely apply to hockey. There are several articles that discuss the increasing number of injuries in youth baseball and basketball players due to early sport specialization.
Baseball has seen an increase in the Tommy John surgery in younger players, especially pitchers, who do not give themselves proper recovery time. As stated by Rocky Snyder, a nationally recognized expert in human movement and the recipient of the 2023 NSCA Personal Trainer of the Year Award, “pitch counts and adequate rest are essential components of injury prevention in baseball… lack of proper rest between outings can also contribute to increased stress on the elbow and higher risk of UCL injuries.”
In an article published by Current Sports Medicine Reports, Robert M. Malina discusses the negative consequences associated with early sport specialization. According to Malina, single sport specialization does not allow players to give their body proper rest, causes them to overuse certain parts of their body, undergo excessive training hours that leads to “burnout” or disinterest, is the source of various negative mental health effects, and takes away from kids being able to be kids.
Athletes that play multiple sports train different muscle groups, perform different motions, and it allows certain parts of their bodies to rest. Athletes that choose to play a single sport must remember the importance of rest and recovery. This not only allows one’s body to heal, but it gives their mind a break as well. Taking some time off isn’t going to make or break any opportunities.
References
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/fulltext/2010/11000/early_sport_specialization__roots,_effectiveness,.14.aspx#:~:text=Risks%20of%20early%20specialization%20include,perhaps%20risk%20of%20overuse%20injury.
https://www.rockysnyder.com/the-surge-in-tommy-john-surgeries-among-baseball-players/#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20surge%20in%20Tommy,overuse%20and%20early%20sports%20specialization.
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