Sports Specialization and Sports-Related Injuries in Japanese School-Aged Children and Adolescents: A Retrospective Descriptive Study

Ryosuke Shigematsu, Shuta Katoh, Koya Suzuki, Yoshio Nakata and Hiroyuki Sasai
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Ryosuke Shigematsu: Faculty of Education, Mie University, Tsu 514-8507, Japan
Shuta Katoh: Course for Health and Physical Education, Faculty of Education, Mie University, Tsu 514-8507, Japan
Koya Suzuki: Department of Sports Science, Juntendo University, Chiba 270-1695, Japan
Yoshio Nakata: Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8577, Japan
Hiroyuki Sasai: Research Team for Promoting Independence and Mental Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-9

Abstract: Although early sports specialization is associated with sports-related injuries, relevant quantitative studies on young non-elite athletes, the majority of sports participants, are scarce. We described sports specialization time points and the characteristics of sports-related injuries. Undergraduate students at a university in Japan ( n = 830) recalled their history of sports participation from elementary to high school and sports-related injuries in a self-administered questionnaire. Of 570 valid respondents, 486 (85%) engaged in sports at least once. Significantly more respondents played multiple sports in upper elementary school (30%) than in other school categories (1–23%). In junior high and high schools, 90% and 99% played only one sport, respectively. Of the 486 respondents who played sports, 263 (54%) had experienced acute or overuse injuries. The proportion of injured participants significantly differed by school category: lower elementary school (4%), upper elementary school (21%), junior high (35%), and high school (41%). The proportions of acute or overuse injuries in males were higher than those in females. In conclusion, this study clarified a slight variation in sports items, particularly in junior high and high schools, which demonstrates 13 years as the age of beginning specialization in a single sport. More than half of the non-elite athletes experienced sports-related injuries. Injuries were frequently observed in males and those in junior high and high schools.

Keywords: extra-curriculum; early specialization; athletic injuries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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