Sports Injury Risk for Kids Increases When Free Play Decreases

Go outside and play!

That’s what a lot of parents may want to tell their children – especially if they spend several hours playing organized sports. A new study found that athletes between the ages of 8 and 18 are more likely to be injured if they spend twice as many hours per week in organized sports compared to the amount of time they spend just playing on their own.

The study, presented at a national conference for the American Academy of Pediatrics, found that children who play more hours than their age of one particular sport face a higher injury risk. In fact, “athletes who spend more than twice as much time in organized sports than in free play, whatever their age or sport, are more likely to be injured and have serious overuse injuries,” a news release from the American Academy of Pediatrics states.

The study included more than 1,200 child and adolescent athletes who came to one of two Chicago hospitals and affiliated clinics for either a sports-related injury or a sports physical. Researchers noted each child’s intensity and length of training, degree of sports specialization, Tanner stage (a measure of physical development), and height and weight. The same information was collected at six-month intervals for up to three years.

“The young athletes who more intensely specialized in a single sport were more likely to have an injury and a serious overuse injury,” which typically keeps athletes out of play for a longer period of time, said lead study author Dr. Neeru Jayanthi in the news release.

There were 837 injured participants with 859 unique injuries, and 360 uninjured participants. Injured athletes were typically older than uninjured athletes. They  also reported a higher average number of hours per week playing organized sports and higher average hours per week in total sports activity including gym, free play and organized sports activities, the release states.

“We found that kids on average play organized sports nearly twice as much as free play,” Jayanthi said. “Those kids who exceed that two-to-one ratio are more likely to be injured.”

Co-investigator Dr. Cynthia R. LaBella said the next goal is to determine whether educating parents and children will reduce overuse injuries in youth sports.

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