Luo Emily J, Reed Jake, Mitchell John Kyle, Dorrestein Emilie, Kiwinda Lulla V, Hendren Steph, Hinton Zoe W, Lau Brian C
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
UNC Orthopaedics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA.
Clin Pract. 2025 Apr 29;15(5):88. doi: 10.3390/clinpract15050088.
: Early sport specialization, involving intensive focus on a single sport for greater than 8 months per year at a prepubescent age, has become increasingly common in young athletes. While early sport specialization is often regarded as essential for success, there is growing concern that the potential risks to young athletes may outweigh the perceived benefits. Although numerous studies have explored early sport specialization, there has been no summative review on the topic in regard to the comprehensive impact on outcomes in these athletes. This study aims to systematically review the literature to determine the impacts of early specialization on injury, function, performance, sport success, and psychological outcomes. : A review of Medline (PubMed) was conducted to search for studies relating to early sport specialization in pediatric patients (time of specialization < 18 years old) and outcomes. Extracted information included injury outcomes with a focus on overuse injuries, functional outcomes, performance outcomes, sport success, and psychological outcomes. For studies that reported relevant statistics, < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. All studies were described qualitatively. : An initial search resulted in a total of 826 studies. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 93 studies were included. A total of 62,327 athletes were included in the study. The average age of study participants was 15.9 years, with an average age at specialization of 11.6 years. Early sport specialization was associated with increased risk of injury, worse functional and physical performance, decreased or no benefit to sport success, and poor psychological outcomes. : Early sport specialization was associated with increased risk of injury and negative impacts on functional and physical performance measures. There was also no clear advantage regarding sport success. Early sport specialization was linked to harmful effects on athlete psychological well-being. Late specialization, multisport participation, and following training volume guidelines can aid in mitigating these risks.
早期运动专项化，即在青春期前每年超过8个月集中专注于一项单一运动，在年轻运动员中已变得越来越普遍。虽然早期运动专项化常被视为成功的关键，但人们越来越担心其给年轻运动员带来的潜在风险可能超过其预期益处。尽管众多研究探讨了早期运动专项化，但尚未有关于该主题对这些运动员各项结果综合影响的总结性综述。本研究旨在系统回顾文献，以确定早期专项化对损伤、功能、表现、运动成就和心理结果的影响。
对医学期刊数据库（PubMed）进行了检索，以查找与儿科患者（专项化时间<18岁）早期运动专项化及相关结果的研究。提取的信息包括以过度使用损伤为重点的损伤结果、功能结果、表现结果、运动成就和心理结果。对于报告了相关统计数据的研究，P<0.05被视为具有统计学意义。所有研究均进行定性描述。
初步检索共得到826项研究。在应用纳入和排除标准后，纳入了93项研究。该研究共纳入了62327名运动员。研究参与者的平均年龄为15.9岁，专项化时的平均年龄为11.6岁。早期运动专项化与受伤风险增加、功能和身体表现变差、运动成就降低或无益处以及心理结果不佳相关。
早期运动专项化与受伤风险增加以及对功能和身体表现指标的负面影响有关。在运动成就方面也没有明显优势。早期运动专项化与对运动员心理健康的有害影响有关。后期专项化、参与多项运动以及遵循训练量指导方针有助于降低这些风险。
