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

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.