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Diving Into Sports Specialization: The Association of Early Specialization on Injury Rates in Youth to Young Adult
Annika Lenz1,2, Aaron Provance2, Luke August Johnson2
1Pediatric Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Objectives:
This study explored the link between early sports specialization and injury rates in youth divers, a relationship that remains largely unexplored within diving.
Design:
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting:
Members of the USA Diving Organization and collegiate male and female divers participated in an online survey, reporting their sports involvement and injury history.
Participants:
One hundred eighty-two male and female divers aged 8 to 25 years were recruited through USA Diving or US collegiate team databases.
Independent Variables:
Early/late specialization (based on age <12 or 12 years or older), gender (M/F), springboard and/or platform divers, experience (junior/senior, regional/zone/national/international), hours of dryland/water training, and prior sport exposure.
Main Outcome Measures:
Injury history obtained on questionnaire.
Results:
One hundred eighty-two divers were surveyed; 70% female. Age to start diving and age to concentrate solely on diving were significantly associated with certain injuries ( P < 0.05). Beginning diving before age 13 years of age was significantly associated with lower odds of injuries in the shoulder and wrist ( P = 0.013 and 0.018, respectively), after adjusting for select covariates. Age of specialization was not significantly associated with injuries in any body part ( P > 0.05), after adjusting for covariates. Greater years of diving experience was significantly associated with diving injuries in all 11 body parts ( P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
This study indicates that early sports specialization is associated with decreased injury rates in elite youth divers who specialized before age 13 years, particularly for head/neck, shoulder, and wrist injuries. Moreover, we observed a positive correlation between experience and injury rate. Further investigation should focus on distinguishing between acute and overuse injuries.
