Buckley Patrick S, Ciccotti Michael C, Bishop Meghan, Kane Patrick, Selverian Stephen, Exume Dominique, D'Angelo John, Emper William, Freedman Kevin B, Hammoud Sommer, Cohen Steven B, Ciccotti Michael G
University Orthopaedic Associates, Wall Township, New Jersey, USA.
Rothman Orthopaedic Institute, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Orthop J Sports Med. 2020 Mar 20;8(3):2325967120907875. doi: 10.1177/2325967120907875. eCollection 2020 Mar.
An increasing number of youth baseball athletes are specializing in playing baseball at younger ages.
The purpose of our study was to describe the age and prevalence of single-sport specialization in a cohort of current professional baseball athletes. In addition, we sought to understand the trends surrounding single-sport specialization in professional baseball players raised within and outside the United States (US).
Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.
A survey was distributed to male professional baseball athletes via individual team athletic trainers. Athletes were asked if and at what age they had chosen to specialize in playing baseball at the exclusion of other sports, and data were then collected pertaining to this decision. We analyzed the rate and age of specialization, the reasons for specialization, and the athlete's perception of injuries related to specialization.
A total of 1673 professional baseball athletes completed the survey, representing 26 of the 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations. Less than half (44.5%) of professional athletes specialized in playing a single sport during their childhood/adolescence. Those who reported specializing in their youth did so at a mean age of 14.09 ± 2.79 years. MLB players who grew up outside the US specialized at a significantly earlier age than MLB players native to the US (12.30 ± 3.07 vs 14.89 ± 2.24 years, respectively; < .001). Additionally, MLB players raised in the US recalled a significantly higher incidence of sustaining an injury attributed to specializing in baseball than MLB athletes raised outside the US (27.7% vs 20.6%, respectively; = .05).
This study challenges the current trends toward early youth sport specialization, finding that the majority of professional baseball athletes studied did not specialize as youth and that those who did specialize did so at a mean age of 14 years. With the potential cumulative effects of pitching and overhead throwing on an athlete's arm, the trend identified in this study toward earlier specialization within baseball is concerning.
越来越多的青少年棒球运动员在更小的年龄就开始专门从事棒球运动。
我们研究的目的是描述一组现役职业棒球运动员中单项运动专业化的年龄和患病率。此外，我们试图了解在美国境内外成长起来的职业棒球运动员中围绕单项运动专业化的趋势。
横断面研究；证据水平为3级。
通过各球队的运动训练师向男性职业棒球运动员发放调查问卷。询问运动员是否以及在什么年龄选择专门从事棒球运动而不参与其他运动，然后收集与此决定相关的数据。我们分析了专业化的比率和年龄、专业化的原因以及运动员对与专业化相关损伤的认知。
共有1673名职业棒球运动员完成了调查，代表了30个美国职业棒球大联盟（MLB）组织中的26个。不到一半（44.5%）的职业运动员在童年/青少年时期专门从事一项运动。那些报告在年轻时就开始专业化的运动员，其平均年龄为14.09±2.79岁。在美国境外长大的MLB球员开始专业化的年龄明显早于美国本土的MLB球员（分别为12.30±3.07岁和14.89±2.24岁；P<0.001）。此外，在美国长大的MLB球员回忆起因专门从事棒球运动而受伤的发生率明显高于在美国境外长大的MLB运动员（分别为27.7%和20.6%；P = 0.05）。
本研究对当前青少年运动早期专业化的趋势提出了挑战，发现大多数接受研究的职业棒球运动员在青少年时期并未专业化，而那些专业化的运动员平均年龄为14岁。鉴于投球和过顶投掷对运动员手臂可能产生的累积影响，本研究中确定的棒球运动中更早专业化的趋势令人担忧。
