Early Sport Specialization and Past Injury in Competitive Youth Rock Climbers

Abstract

Introduction-Sport specialization has been shown to have negative effects on athletes but has not been studied within rock climbing. This study seeks to evaluate the proportion and impact of specialization in pediatric climbers.Methods-Climbers (ages 8-18 y) were recruited from throughout the United States to complete a 1-time survey regarding climbing experience, training patterns, and injury history. The main outcome of proportion of climbers suffering an injury was assessed within the last 12 mo and within their entire climbing experience (defined as "lifetime" injury). Early specialization was defined as exclusive participation in climbing, with training for >8 mo‧y -1 , prior to age 12 y (late specialization if after age 12 y).Results-Participants (n=111, 14±3 y [mean±SD], 69 females) were high-level climbers. Fifty-five percent of participants specialized in climbing, and 69% of those specialized early. Hand and ankle injuries occurred most commonly. Seventy-eight percent of late specialized climbers had a lifetime injury. Late specialized climbers were 1.6 times (95% CI: 1.1-2.3) more likely than early specialized climbers to have had a lifetime injury and 1.8 times (95% CI: 1.1-2.8) more likely to have had an injury in the last 12 mo. No difference in overuse injuries was found between specialization groups.Conclusions-Early specialization is common among youth climbers but was not associated with an increase in injuries. Late specialization was associated with a higher likelihood of having had a climbing injury in the last 12 mo and during an entire climbing career.

High Sport Specialization Is Associated With More Musculoskeletal Injuries in Canadian High School Students

“…8 Higher levels of early specialization, based on a similar definition, have been reported in specific sports such as youth climbing (69%). 21 In our sample, 5 sports (dance, soccer, basketball, ice hockey, and volleyball) contributed most of the early specialized students, suggesting a bias toward certain sports.…”

Early sport specialization impact on rates of injury in collegiate and professional sport participation: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…28 Various studies have investigated the associations of ESS (or its counterpart groups such as sport sampling and multisport athletes) with professional-level sport performance, 29,30 or with injuries during adolescence. 28,31,32 In recent years, however, there has been an effort to examine the effects of ESS on injury rates later in athletic careers (i.e., long-term effect) such as during professional sport participation in adulthood. In a study on collegiate athletes, Post et al (2017) found that those who specialized in their collegiate sport before the age of 12 had a significantly higher risk of lower extremity injuries compared to those who did not specialize early.…”