Diving Into Sports Specialization: The Association of Early Specialization on Injury Rates in Youth to Young Adult Divers.

OBJECTIVES

This study explored the link between early sports specialization and injury rates in youth divers, a relationship that remains largely unexplored within diving.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

Members of the USA Diving Organization and collegiate male and female divers participated in an online survey, reporting their sports involvement and injury history.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred eighty-two male and female divers aged 8 to 25 years were recruited through USA Diving or US collegiate team databases.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: Early/late specialization (based on age <12 or 12 years or older), gender (M/F), springboard and/or platform divers, experience (junior/senior, regional/zone/national/international), hours of dryland/water training, and prior sport exposure.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury history obtained on questionnaire.

RESULTS

One hundred eighty-two divers were surveyed; 70% female. Age to start diving and age to concentrate solely on diving were significantly associated with certain injuries ( P < 0.05). Beginning diving before age 13 years of age was significantly associated with lower odds of injuries in the shoulder and wrist ( P = 0.013 and 0.018, respectively), after adjusting for select covariates. Age of specialization was not significantly associated with injuries in any body part ( P > 0.05), after adjusting for covariates. Greater years of diving experience was significantly associated with diving injuries in all 11 body parts ( P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates that early sports specialization is associated with decreased injury rates in elite youth divers who specialized before age 13 years, particularly for head/neck, shoulder, and wrist injuries. Moreover, we observed a positive correlation between experience and injury rate. Further investigation should focus on distinguishing between acute and overuse injuries.