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.