Date on Honors Thesis

Spring 4-29-2026

Major

Exercise Science

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Amelia Dodd, Advisor

Examining Committee Member

Mr. Fulton Hart, Committee Member

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Lucas Morgan, Committee Member

Abstract/Description

For a multitude of reasons, in the United States, present day society is a persistent witness and contributor to the adultification and professionalization of children alongside the activities they engage in. Single-sport specialization in youth sports is one of our most clear and poignant instances of the existence of this subcurrent. But, in recent years, following the uptick in single-sport specialization among youth athletes there has also been a marked increase in sports medicine professionals cautioning athletes and their families of premature commitment to a sole sport due to concerns of physical health risks. As sport typically involves forceful and repetitive movements and presents a possibility of contact or collision, there is a risk of overuse or acute injuries as well as a decline in musculoskeletal extremity health. For youth athletes who specialize in sport there are sentiments in regard to whether they are more susceptible to encountering these variables which can cause setbacks in their performance and ultimately hinder their success. Therefore, increased attention is beginning to be allotted to evaluating if narrowing participation and specializing in a single sport is associated with the aforementioned health risks. Through a comprehensive evaluation of available and relevant literature, the objective of this review is to analyze if there are significant differences in physical health– specifically injury rates– for specialized youth athletes in comparison to multi-sport youth athletes, spanning from adolescence to adulthood. Study and participant characteristics assessed to determine this include the sport(s) an athlete participates in, the extent of an athlete’s specialization, the type of injury observed, and the rate of injury occurrence.

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