Research summary · Youth development
Youth sport specialisation and injury
A meta-analysis examines the association between greater sport specialisation and injury in youth athletes.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Systematic review and meta-analysis
- Journal
- PeerJ
- Population / context
- Youth athletes · Multiple sports
What the publication reports
Fifteen studies were included. Highly specialised youth athletes had about twice the odds of injury compared with less specialised peers (odds ratio 2.00; 95% confidence interval 1.58–2.55), with moderate heterogeneity.
Limits and interpretation
The underlying evidence was observational and definitions of specialisation and injury differed. The association cannot prove that specialisation caused an individual injury or identify a universally safe age, season length or sport mix.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Association between youth athletes' sports specialization and injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42730297DOI: 10.7717/peerj.21680Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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