Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26502420›Full record

ReviewSports health

Sport Specialization, Part I: Does Early Sports Specialization Increase Negative Outcomes and Reduce the Opportunity for Success in Young Athletes?

Gregory D Myer, Neeru Jayanthi, John P Difiori, Avery D Faigenbaum, Adam W Kiefer, David Logerstedt, Lyle J Micheli

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 140 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
140citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
17.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

140 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 383 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Lack of validated patient-reported outcome tools persists in paediatric and adolescent hip arthroscopy-A systematic review.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2025
    Pooled it
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  6. Improvements in Static Balance Following an Oculomotor Exercise Program in Athletes.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2026
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  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Pediatric ACL Injuries: A Current Concepts Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026
    Review
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  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Article

80 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.

Gregory D MyerDivision of Sports Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio Departments of Pediatrics and Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio The Sports Health and Performance Institute, OSU Sports Medicine, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts greg.myer@cchmc.org.
Neeru JayanthiDepartment of Orthopaedics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia Department of Family Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
John P DifioriDivision of Sports Medicine and Non-Operative Orthopaedics, Departments of Family Medicine and Orthopaedics, University of California, Los Angeles, California.
Avery D FaigenbaumThe College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey.
Adam W KieferDivision of Sports Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio Departments of Pediatrics and Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio Department of Family Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.
David LogerstedtDepartment of Physical Therapy, University of the Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Lyle J MicheliThe Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts Boston Children's Hospital, Department of Orthopaedics, Division of Sports Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Boston Children's Hospital · USCollege of New Jersey · USEmory University · USThe Ohio State University · USUniversity of California, Los Angeles · USUniversity of Cincinnati · USUniversity of the Sciences · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextThere is increased growth in sports participation across the globe. Sports specialization patterns, which include year-round training, participation on multiple teams of the same sport, and focused participation in a single sport at a young age, are at high levels. The need for this type of early specialized training in young athletes is currently under debate. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Nonsystematic review. STUDY

designClinical review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4.

conclusionSports specialization is defined as year-round training (greater than 8 months per year), choosing a single main sport, and/or quitting all other sports to focus on 1 sport. Specialized training in young athletes has risks of injury and burnout, while the degree of specialization is positively correlated with increased serious overuse injury risk. Risk factors for injury in young athletes who specialize in a single sport include year-round single-sport training, participation in more competition, decreased age-appropriate play, and involvement in individual sports that require the early development of technical skills. Adults involved in instruction of youth sports may also put young athletes at risk for injury by encouraging increased intensity in organized practices and competition rather than self-directed unstructured free play. STRENGTH-OF-RECOMMENDATION TAXONOMY SORT: C.

Indexed as

Competitive BehaviorSpecializationSportsAge FactorsAthletic InjuriesCumulative Trauma DisordersHumansPhysical Education and TrainingRisk FactorsStress, Psychologicalathletic performanceinjury preventionneuromuscular trainingyouth sports

Identifiers

PMID26502420
PMCPMC4547120
OpenAlexW1924403535

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.