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

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.