Department of Orthopedic Surgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10003, USA.
Phys Sportsmed. 2022 Aug;50(4):295-300. doi: 10.1080/00913847.2021.1916786. Epub 2021 Jun 21.
Young players experience pressure to focus on ice hockey at the exclusion of other sports in order to improve chances of success. Early specialization in other sports has been associated with increased injury without the benefit of improved success. The objective of the current study was to investigate whether earlier specialization results in increased injury without higher rates of career success. This study also aimed to compare rates of injury in athletes at various levels of competition.
An original survey was issued to men's ice hockey players at the juniorA, collegiate, and professional levels. The survey consisted of 34 questions on various demographic, specialization, and injury variables. All participants were >18 years of age.
The survey was completed by 101 athletes. The mean age at specialization was 13 (±4) overall and 14 (±3), 13 (±4), and 11(±4) for professional, collegiate, and junior players, respectively. There was no difference in age at specialization between each group and professional players did not specialize earlier than the remainder of the cohort as a whole (p > 0.05). There was no significant correlation between age at specialization and total injuries (p > 0.05). There was no difference in concussions causing missed play time between groups (p > 0.05) but professional players had more overall concussions and underwent more surgeries due to hockey-related injuries (p = 0.01).
Specializing exclusively in ice hockey earlier in life was not associated with playing professionally. Both collegiate and professional players do not tend to specialize prior to age 12. Age at specialization was not associated with overall number of injuries. Professional players with longer careers appear to sustain more concussions and undergo more surgery.
为了提高成功的机会，年轻运动员承受着专注于冰球而排除其他运动的压力。早期在其他运动项目上的专项化与增加受伤风险有关，但并没有提高成功的好处。本研究的目的是调查早期专项化是否会导致受伤风险增加，而成功的几率却没有提高。本研究还旨在比较不同竞技水平运动员的受伤率。
一项原创性调查被发送给初级 A、大学和职业级别的男子冰球运动员。该调查包括 34 个关于各种人口统计学、专项化和受伤变量的问题。所有参与者年龄均>18 岁。
共有 101 名运动员完成了调查。总体而言，专项化的平均年龄为 13（±4）岁，职业、大学和初级运动员分别为 14（±3）岁、13（±4）岁和 11（±4）岁。每个组之间的专项化年龄没有差异，职业运动员的专项化年龄并不早于整个队列的其余部分（p>0.05）。专项化年龄与总受伤人数之间没有显著相关性（p>0.05）。各组之间因脑震荡而导致错过比赛时间的情况没有差异（p>0.05），但职业运动员的脑震荡总数更多，并且由于与曲棍球相关的受伤而接受了更多的手术（p=0.01）。
更早地专门从事冰球专项运动并不与从事职业运动相关。大学和职业运动员都倾向于在 12 岁之前不进行专项化。专项化年龄与受伤总数无关。职业运动员的职业生涯更长，似乎更容易遭受脑震荡和接受更多的手术。
