Effects Of Adolescent Sports Specialization On NFL And MLS Players’ Injury Propensity

Abstract

Adolescent single sport specialization has been linked to a higher rate of overuse injuries and has even been shown to be detrimental to the health and career longevity of NBA players (Rugg et al). PURPOSE: To evaluate a potential relationship between adolescent sports specialization and injury propensity in elite NFL and MLS players. METHODS: 570 first and second round NFL draft selections from 2010-2018 and 202 first round MLS draft selections from 2005-2018 with reliable sport specialization, injury history, and playing career data were identified. Publicly verified internet sources were used to classify adolescent sport participation, number and type of severe injuries sustained during pro football or soccer games, and number of total possible games played and missed due to injury. Subjects for each league were divided into 2 cohorts: multisport (MS) and single sport (SS). Sports specialization comparisons were made as follows: (1) Average % of games missed due to injury (APGM) using 2 sample T test and (2) % of players who sustained at least 1 major injury (%MI) using one-tailed Fisher’s exact test. RESULTS: APGM was lower in the NFL MS group (11.4±0.7% vs 18.7±2.3%; p<.01) but not in the MLS MS group (6.51±1.9% vs 5.8±1.0%; p=0.377) [Figure 1]. %MI was also lower in the NFL MS group (54.2 vs 68.8%; p<0.01) but not in the MLS MS group (41.7 vs. 35.1%, p=0.4528) [Figure 2].Figure 1: APGM Sports Specialization Comparison in NFL and MLSFigure 2: %MI Sports Specialization Comparison in NFL and MLSCONCLUSION: Adolescent MS specialization contributes to a reduction in injury predisposition in NFL athletes but not in MLS athletes.