UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Frisco, Texas; Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.
Duke University School of Medicine, Doctor of Physical Therapy Division, Durham, North Carolina.
Wilderness Environ Med. 2022 Jun;33(2):179-186. doi: 10.1016/j.wem.2022.03.002. Epub 2022 Apr 26.
Sport specialization has been shown to have negative effects on athletes but has not been studied within rock climbing. This study seeks to evaluate the proportion and impact of specialization in pediatric climbers.
Climbers (ages 8-18 y) were recruited from throughout the United States to complete a 1-time survey regarding climbing experience, training patterns, and injury history. The main outcome of proportion of climbers suffering an injury was assessed within the last 12 mo and within their entire climbing experience (defined as "lifetime" injury). Early specialization was defined as exclusive participation in climbing, with training for >8 mo‧y, prior to age 12 y (late specialization if after age 12 y).
Participants (n=111, 14±3 y [mean±SD], 69 females) were high-level climbers. Fifty-five percent of participants specialized in climbing, and 69% of those specialized early. Hand and ankle injuries occurred most commonly. Seventy-eight percent of late specialized climbers had a lifetime injury. Late specialized climbers were 1.6 times (95% CI: 1.1-2.3) more likely than early specialized climbers to have had a lifetime injury and 1.8 times (95% CI: 1.1-2.8) more likely to have had an injury in the last 12 mo. No difference in overuse injuries was found between specialization groups.
Early specialization is common among youth climbers but was not associated with an increase in injuries. Late specialization was associated with a higher likelihood of having had a climbing injury in the last 12 mo and during an entire climbing career.
运动专项化已被证明对运动员有负面影响，但在攀岩运动中尚未进行研究。本研究旨在评估儿童攀岩者专业化的比例及其影响。
从美国各地招募了年龄在 8-18 岁的攀岩者，让他们一次性完成有关攀岩经历、训练模式和受伤史的调查。评估了过去 12 个月和整个攀岩生涯（定义为“终身”受伤）中受伤的攀岩者的比例。早期专业化是指在 12 岁之前（12 岁以后为晚期专业化）就开始进行专项训练，训练时间超过 8 个月。
参与者（n=111，14±3 岁[均值±标准差]，69 名女性）为高水平攀岩者。55%的参与者从事专项攀岩运动，其中 69%的人是早期专业化。手部和踝关节受伤最常见。78%的晚期专业化攀岩者有终身受伤史。晚期专业化的攀岩者发生终身受伤的可能性是早期专业化的 1.6 倍（95%CI：1.1-2.3），在过去 12 个月中受伤的可能性是早期专业化的 1.8 倍（95%CI：1.1-2.8）。在过度使用损伤方面，专业化组之间没有差异。
早期专业化在青年攀岩者中很常见，但与受伤增加无关。晚期专业化与过去 12 个月和整个攀岩生涯中发生攀岩受伤的可能性增加有关。
