Youth sport specialization associated with poorer lower extremity function & pain as young adults

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective 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. Methods 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. Results 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%). Conclusions 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.