Risk vs Reward
There have been a lot of articles floating my way recently regarding the risk of specializing in a sport at a young age. It has sparked some great conversations in the Healthy Cheerleading Group on Facebook. Understandably, the general consensus by the parents I’ve talked with, is if they don’t specialize early, they won’t be able to achieve the skill they will need to make a higher level team as they get older.
While I understand this argument, because it is the way the culture of sports is set up right now, I also am bothered by the fact that most people would rather take the risk of an injury that could possibly end their career vs create other opportunities for their kids to become skilled in different sports which will have carry over to the skills they need in the sport they want to specialize in. These other skills include (and are not limited to) improving eye/hand coordination, agility, balance, flexibility, speed, and even teamwork.
Let me be clear, I totally get it. I do not think this is going to change overnight. I understand the drive to get better at a skill and repetition is key to helping that.
Yet, as someone who promotes the health and well-being of cheerleaders, as well as all athletes, I feel it’s important to know the risk factors and provide ways to minimize the risks. Therefore, I write this article only to bring awareness to the research and provide some tools to prevent overall injury.
While there is evidence to show that early specialization may lead to higher risk of stress fractures, other overuse injuries or concussions, studies have also suggested that the injury rate may vary per athlete’s sex as well as they sport that they play. For instance, girls who specialize in a sport that has a higher volume of repetition, may be more likely to sustain an overuse injury than other sports. (3)
If early specialization is not always a predictor of an injury, it makes sense to challenge the risk/reward notion that avoiding specialization will lead to injury. However, there is also evidence to suggest that early specialization does not lead to the increased likelihood of being able to play in a collegiate level sport (2), therefore where is the reward?
The truth is, all sports (except maybe football) encourage early specialization and the pull to do this is not going to go away. So the never ending question remains: How do we reduce the risk of injury?
These tips are applicable for every athlete, whether youth, collegiate or adult weekend-warrior.
1-Improve sleep habits. While every person is different, most people need 6–9 hours of sleep per night, and those under 25 likely need more sleep than over 25 to operate at full capacity. Sleep deprivation leads to loss of focus and concentration and may lead to a higher risk of injury. The good news is you can make up for lost sleep, but it takes time. To best help your kids, and yourself improve your sleep status, be consistent with your bedtime and wake time and start the wind down process an hour before bedtime. This means turn off electronics; prepare for bed; maybe read a book that requires minimal thinking. You can learn more about sleep debt and how to improve our sleep in this Strength Coach Podcast with Dr. Brandon Marcello. (If you’re a coach of any kind, this is a great podcast to listen to.)
2-Proper nutrition. Our body needs fuel. This means enough protein, carbohydrates and fats. How much will vary per your activity level, but the quality of food does not vary. Eat less processed foods. Eat more vegetables. Eat a variety. Eat lean proteins. Maybe this means bringing your own meals to events and practices. Maybe it means finding a healthier restaurant that offers more than burgers, fries or pizza. These are fine once and a while, but when it’s your primary diet, you’ll experience more fatigue and less muscle growth which is important for any athlete. If you want to start learning more about what constitutes better nutrition, check out Precision Nutrition. They have a lot of articles and resources that can help
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/
3-Hydrate. Water needs to be the primary beverage. It lubricates our joints. keeps our muscle supple, and helps all our insides to function properly. I recommend drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces per day. If you’re starting from a big deficit, try adding one glass per day and get there overtime. Avoid drinking sodas and sports drinks whenever possible. Plain water does the best job in keeping you hydrated.
4-Rest/recovery. Stretching after a practice can help muscles recover from the work they just did. If you jump/run/tumble in your sport, while you are away from it, do other activities that don’t ask for as much impact. If you workout heavy 5–6 days per week, take at least one day to work on your mobility. Adding a little bit of gentle mobility work can go a long way to keeping your body functioning optimally.
5-Put yourself in varying positions through the day. This is especially important if you’re a weekend warrior and sit most of your day away through the week. When you’re home, try lying on the floor face up and/or face down with your arms overhead. Use your laptop while kneeling. Crawl on the floor with your pets, or kids. Just do something different than you do all day every day. And for your kids, encourage them to do the same, or maybe even do that outside with friends on the grass for a change of surface. Explore the options!
We will not prevent injuries by stopping year-round sports, but we can reduce overuse injuries. We can also reduce injuries that occur because an athlete is either unprepared, by way of strength, flexibility, or skill etc, or because they need better sleep, nutrition, hydration and recovery methods.
I think this is a discussion that will continue for a long time to come. The best we can do is listen, learn and converse.
References
https://doi.org/10.1177/194173812211235
1.Okoruwa ET, Abbott A, Stamm M, Mulcahey MK. Sport Specialization Classification and Injury Risk in Female Athletes. Sports Health. 2022;14(6):797–804. doi:10.1177/19417381221123532
https://doi.org/10.1177/19417381211060293 1.
2.Post EG, Thein-Nissenbaum JM, Stiffler MR, et al. High School Sport Specialization Patterns of Current Division I Athletes. Sports Health. 2017;9(2):148–153. doi:10.1177/1941738116675455
https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738119886855
3.Post EG, Biese KM, Schaefer DA, et al. Sport-Specific Associations of Specialization and Sex With Overuse Injury in Youth Athletes. Sports Health. 2020;12(1):36–42. doi:10.1177/1941738119886