Department of Applied Medicine and Rehabilitation, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana.
Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, San Diego State University, San Diego, California.
Sports Health. 2021 May-Jun;13(3):223-229. doi: 10.1177/1941738120970956. Epub 2021 Feb 3.
Baseball is one of the most popular boy's youth sports, and there has been a rise in the rates of certain overuse injuries among players. Specialization has been identified as a risk factor for overuse injury in high school athlete populations, but there is little understanding of the prevalence or consequences of sport specialization in Little League baseball players.
Sport specialization will be highly prevalent among Little League baseball players and specialization will be associated with worse throwing arm health.
Cross-sectional study.
Level 3.
A total of 246 Little League baseball players (male; N = 241; age, 9.5 ± 1.6 years) between 7 and 12 years old completed an anonymous, online questionnaire with their parent's assistance. The questionnaire consisted of participant demographics and baseball participation information, including sport specialization status and the Youth Throwing Score (YTS), a valid and reliable patient-reported outcome measure for youth baseball players.
Only 29 (11.8%) players met the criteria for high specialization. Approximately one-third of all players (n = 77; 31.3%) reported participating in baseball year-round or receiving private coaching outside of their league (n = 81; 32.9%). Highly specialized athletes demonstrated worse scores on the YTS on average compared with low-specialization athletes (mean [SE]: 56.9 [1.6] vs 61.1 [1.2]; = 0.01). Similarly, pitching in the previous year ( < 0.01) or traveling overnight regularly for showcases ( = 0.01) were associated with a worse score on the YTS.
While the prevalence of high sport specialization was low among Little League baseball players, other behaviors associated with specialization such as year-round play and the receiving of private coaching were more common. Highly specialized Little League players demonstrated worse throwing arm health compared with low-specialization players.
Little League players and their parents may represent a potential target audience for dissemination campaigns regarding sport specialization.
棒球是最受欢迎的青少年男子运动之一，运动员中某些过度使用损伤的发生率有所上升。专业化已被确定为高中运动员群体过度使用损伤的一个风险因素，但对小联盟棒球运动员中运动专业化的流行程度或后果知之甚少。
运动专业化在小联盟棒球运动员中非常普遍，专业化与更差的投掷臂健康有关。
横断面研究。
3 级。
共有 246 名小联盟棒球运动员（男性；N=241；年龄，9.5±1.6 岁）在 7 至 12 岁之间，在其父母的协助下完成了一份匿名的在线问卷。问卷包括参与者的人口统计学和棒球参与信息，包括运动专业化状况和青少年投掷评分（YTS），这是一种针对青少年棒球运动员的有效且可靠的患者报告结果测量。
只有 29 名（11.8%）运动员符合高度专业化的标准。大约三分之一的运动员（n=77；31.3%）报告全年参加棒球比赛或在联赛之外接受私人教练（n=81；32.9%）。与低专业化运动员相比，高度专业化运动员的 YTS 平均得分较差（平均[SE]：56.9[1.6] vs 61.1[1.2]；=0.01）。同样，前一年的投球（<0.01）或定期过夜旅行参加展示会（=0.01）与 YTS 得分较差有关。
虽然小联盟棒球运动员中高度专业化的流行率较低，但其他与专业化相关的行为，如全年比赛和接受私人教练，更为常见。高度专业化的小联盟运动员的投掷臂健康状况明显差于低专业化运动员。
小联盟运动员及其家长可能是关于运动专业化的传播活动的潜在目标受众。
