Department of Health Professions, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.
Sentara RMH Orthopedic Center, Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA.
Phys Sportsmed. 2023 Jun;51(3):254-259. doi: 10.1080/00913847.2022.2042167. Epub 2022 Feb 25.
Examine the link between youth sports specialization and long-term lower extremity joint health after sports by comparing lower extremity function, pain, and history of sport-related injuries between young adults that were highly, moderately, and low specialized in youth sports.
We used a cross-sectional design, and all data was collected using an electronic survey. Our sample included N = 356 young adults who participated in a primary sport during youth and high school sports but were no longer participating in that sport as a young adult. Participants were stratified into high (n = 111), moderate (n = 119), and low (n = 126) specialization groups using a 3-criteria sport specialization questionnaire based on youth sports participation prior to high school. We compared participants current Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) score (0-80), the proportion of participants with clinically important deficits in LEFS score (≤71/80), current lower extremity (foot/ankle, knee, hip) pain scores (0-10), and history of lower extremity (foot/ankle, knee, hip) injuries between the high, moderate, and low specialization groups.
The high specialization group reported significantly lower overall LEFS scores, and a greater proportion (40%) reported clinically important deficits in LEFS scores compared to the low specialization group (20%). The high specialization group also reported greater foot/ankle and knee pain and a greater proportion of sport-related knee injuries than the low specialization group (49% vs 25%).
Our findings suggest that even after discontinuing sports, young adults who were highly specialized in youth sports before high school reported clinically important deficits in lower extremity function, greater foot/ankle and knee pain, and a greater history of knee injuries than young adults who were not specialized in youth sports, suggesting a possible link between youth sports specialization and long-term lower extremity health after sports.
通过比较高度专业化、中度专业化和低度专业化的青年运动员在下肢功能、疼痛和运动相关损伤史方面的差异，来研究青年体育专业化与运动后长期下肢关节健康之间的联系。
我们采用了横断面设计，所有数据均通过电子调查收集。我们的样本包括 N=356 名年轻人，他们在青少年和高中时期参加过一项主要运动，但在成年后不再参加该运动。参与者根据基于高中前青年体育参与的 3 项运动专业化标准问卷，分为高度专业化（n=111）、中度专业化（n=119）和低度专业化（n=126）组。我们比较了参与者当前下肢功能量表（LEFS）评分（0-80）、LEFS 评分存在临床显著缺陷的参与者比例（≤71/80）、当前下肢（足部/踝关节、膝盖、臀部）疼痛评分（0-10）以及下肢（足部/踝关节、膝盖、臀部）损伤史在高度专业化、中度专业化和低度专业化组之间的差异。
高度专业化组报告的总体 LEFS 评分明显较低，且存在临床显著缺陷的比例（40%）高于低度专业化组（20%）。高度专业化组还报告了更严重的足部/踝关节和膝盖疼痛，以及更多的与运动相关的膝盖损伤，高于低度专业化组（49%比 25%）。
我们的研究结果表明，即使在停止运动后，高中前高度专业化的青年运动员在下肢功能、足部/踝关节和膝盖疼痛以及膝盖损伤史方面也存在临床显著缺陷，比非青年运动专业化的年轻运动员更严重，这表明青年体育专业化与运动后长期下肢健康之间可能存在联系。
