Study: Single-Sport Athletes Injured More
November 3, 2016
A study conducted by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and funded by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Foundation revealed that high school athletes who specialize in a single sport sustain lower-extremity injuries at significantly higher rates than athletes who do not specialize in one sport.
The study was conducted throughout the 2015-16 school year at 29 high schools in Wisconsin involving more than 1,500 student-athletes equally divided between male and female participants. The schools involved in the study represented a mixture of rural (14), suburban (12) and urban (3) areas, and enrollments were equally diverse with 10 small schools (less than 500 students), 10 medium schools (501-1,000 students) and nine large schools (more than 1,000 students).
Athletes who specialized in one sport were twice as likely to report previously sustaining a lower-extremity injury while participating in sports (46%) than athletes who did not specialize (24%). In addition, specialized athletes sustained 60 percent more new lower-extremity injuries during the study than athletes who did not specialize. Lower-extremity injuries were defined as any acute, gradual, recurrent or repetitive-use injury to the lower musculoskeletal system.
“While we have long believed that sport specialization by high school athletes leads to an increased risk of overuse injury, this study confirms those beliefs about the potential risks of sport specialization,” said Bob Gardner, NFHS executive director. “Coaches, parents and student-athletes need to be aware of the injury risks involved with an overemphasis in a single sport.”
Among those who reported previously sustaining a lower-extremity injury, the areas of the body injured most often were the ankle (43%) and knee (23%). The most common types of previous injuries were ligament sprains (51%) and muscle/tendon strains (20%).
New injuries during the year-long study occurred most often to the ankle (34%), knee (25%) and upper leg (13%), with the most common injuries being ligament sprains (41%), muscle/tendon strains (25%) and tendonitis (20%).
In addition, specialized athletes were twice as likely to sustain a gradual onset/repetitive-use injury than athletes who did not specialize, and those who specialized were more likely to sustain an injury even when controlling for gender, grade, previous injury status and sport.
Thirty-four (34) percent of the student-athletes involved in the Wisconsin study specialized in one sport, with females (41%) more likely to specialize than males (28%). Soccer had the highest level of specialization for both males (45%) and females (49%). After soccer, the rate of specialization for females was highest for softball (45%), volleyball (43%) and basketball (37%). The top specialization sports for males after soccer were basketball (37%), tennis (33%) and wrestling (29%).
The study, which was directed by Timothy McGuine, Ph.D., ATC, of the University of Wisconsin, also documented the effects of concurrent sport participation (participating in an interscholastic sport while simultaneously participating in an out-of-school club sport), which indicated further risk of athletes sustaining lower-extremity injuries.
Almost 50 percent of the student-athletes involved in the survey indicated they participated on a club team outside the school setting, and 15 percent of those individuals did so while simultaneously competing in a different sport within the school. Seventeen (17) percent of the student-athletes indicated that they took part in 60 or more primary sport competitions (school and club) in a single year. Among those student-athletes in this group who sustained new lower-extremity injuries during the year, 27 percent were athletes who specialized in one sport.
The student-athletes involved in the study were deemed “specialized” if they answered “yes” to at least four of the following six questions: 1) Do you train more than 75 percent of the time in your primary sport?; 2) Do you train to improve skill and miss time with friends as a result?; 3) Have you quit another sport to focus on one sport?; 4) Do you consider your primary sport more important than your other sports?; 5) Do you regularly travel out of state for your primary sport?; 6) Do you train more than eight months a year in your primary sport?
Although some sports (field hockey, lacrosse) are not offered in Wisconsin and were not included in the study, the study concluded that since specialization increased the risk of lower-extremity injuries in sports involved in the survey it would also likely increase the risk of injuries in sports that were not a part of the study.
Participation Fees Rise Again
December 19, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The use of participation fees to help fund interscholastic athletics in Michigan high schools for the first time rose significantly above 50 percent during the 2012-13 school year, according to the most recent survey taken by the Michigan High School Athletic Association of its member institutions.
Use of fees had held steady at just above 50 percent over the last two school years, 2010-11 and 2011-12. But the most recently completed survey indicated that of 450 member schools participating, 249 schools – 55.3 percent – charged participation fees during the 2012-13 school year.
There were 758 senior high schools in the MHSAA membership in 2012-13 – the survey generated a response rate of 59 percent. This was the ninth survey of schools since the 2003-04 school year, when members reported that fees were being charged in 24 percent of schools.
The largest surge of charging fees in 2012-13 came at Class B schools, with 61 percent reporting fees after 54 percent reported using them in 2011-12. Class A schools saw a five percent jump to 71 percent, Class C saw a three percent rise to 49, and Class D schools saw a slight increase to 37 percent assessing fees.
Charging a standardized per-team fee for each on which a student participates remains the most popular method among schools that assess fees – although those doing so in that way dropped to 36 percent, a decrease of more than five percent. The median fee among those schools was $65, a decrease of $10 from the previous year.
Building on a trend that emerged during the 2011-12 survey, the use of fees incurred by students who paid once for an entire year of participation increased again to 29 percent of schools that charge. Families as a whole are facing higher fees as well; although an increasing number of schools are setting a maximum fee a family can be assessed, the amount of that fee increased in 2012-13 to a median of $300.
The survey for 2012-13 and surveys from previous years can be found on the MHSAA Website by clicking on Schools – Administrators – Pay-To-Play Resources.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.