High School Athletes and Over-Specialization...

Over specialization is a term used when referring to athletes who focus on one sport all year round. An example would be a high school pitcher who throws all year round and does not take an off-season. A study suggests that highly specialized high school athletes may be more likely to report a history of overuse knee or hip injury. The high school athletes were classified as low specialization (n = 105), moderate specialization (n = 87), or high specialization (n = 110). They found that athletes in the high specialization group were more likely to report a history of overuse knee injuries (n = 18) compared with moderate (n = 8) or low specialization (n = 7) athletes. Overall, athletes who trained in one sport for more than 8 months out of the year were more likely to report a history of knee injuries, overuse knee injuries, and hip injuries.

Female Soccer Athletes and Recurrent ACL Injury...

A recent study reported that female soccer players treated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction who returned to the sport had an increased rate of graft re-tear and contralateral ACL injury, compared to a similar group of non-soccer female athletes.