Does Sport Specialization Increase Risk for Injury?

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Sport Specialization and the AMI

Studies have shown that children who participate in sport have an improved quality of life. They are less likely to smoke or to be truant at school and are more likely to maintain good grades. With over 7.8 million kids participating in interscholastic sports each year, sports injuries are inevitable, and dorsaVi designed the Athletic Movement Index (AMI) with the goal to minimize that risk of injury where possible. 


DorsaVi’s interest lies predominantly with injury prevention for the lower extremity, specifically knee and ACL injury. Why do we hold a strong focus here? 

  • Ingram et al (American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2008) study showed that the most reported athletic injury between the ages of 15 and 25 is a knee injury. 
  • Fernandez et al (American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2007) showed lower extremity injuries account for 60-70% of all injuries in high school athlete populations. 
  • Rechel et at (Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2011) showed that 50-60% of all athletic injuries requiring surgery were a result of injuries to the knee. 


Our wearable sensor technology is an incredible tool for clinicians to use for injury prevention (to learn more about this, click here and read our case study in which the AMI predicts injury potential), but we are also interested in techniques and methods which can further protect athletes from injury. As such, we find ourselves hugely interested in Dr James Andrews, the nation’s leading expert in sports related injuries, as he attributes the leading cause of preventable sports related injuries to early specialization. 


Why is that? 

Typically, in the past, sports were played according to season. One would play their sport during spring or fall, then move on to the next once the season was over. Today, however, sports are no longer strictly played according to season. 

  • Now, a soccer player may start their season at school, then move on to play with their club or travel team. 

This can result in athletes playing the same sport year-round. 

Unknowingly, parents believe this will help their child become a better athlete. However, whilst this may improve an athlete’s competitive edge, it is also increasing their risk for injury and maybe even jeopardising their ability to progress in their sport. 

  • According to Rugg et al (American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018) if an athlete suffers a knee or ACL injury prior to a Division I career, they are 8 x more likely to suffer a knee injury or ACL injury during their Division I career. This fact actually prevents some colleges from recruiting athletes with a previous knee history. 


What does the research tell us about multisport athletes versus single sport athletes? 

McGuine et al (American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2017) conducted a study, set out to determine if sport specialization is associated with increased risk for lower extremity injuries in high school athletes. 

  • The results of this study indicated that the more an athlete specialised in a single sport versus multiple sports, the higher the likelihood was for them to suffer a lower extremity injury. 


Again, Rugg et al (American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018) coordinated a study from which they hoped to determine whether National Basketball Association (NBA) players who play multiple sports as adolescents were less likely to get injured. In addition, they looked to see whether multisport athletes have higher participation rates in terms of games played and career length over their single sport athlete counterparts. 

  • The results showed that multisport athletes played more games per season, had longer NBA careers, and were injured less. 
  • Although this study was conducted with a good sample size and over a seven-year period, the number of multisport athletes is still relatively low. 

This Rugg et al study forces us to ask whether the cohort of multisport athletes were freakish, super talented athletes who could play no matter what? Or whether their success was the result of playing multiple sports? It is most likely, that their results were a combination of the two. 


Nevertheless, what we can take away from these studies is that multisport athletes are likely to injure themselves less than their single sport counterparts. 

  • Athletes playing multiple sports have a better kinaesthetic awareness, better neuromuscular control, better agility, and overall better athleticism. 

We know that encouraging athletes to move away from their main sport during the off season and turning them towards biking, lifting weights, or swimming can better physically prepare them as it adds to recovery and helps to strength areas of weakness that may not be addressed during normal seasonal performance of our sport.  

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