556 MEP038 – Age differences in the level of sport specialization and training volume of Japanese youth football players

AbstractBackground Early sport specialization is associated with an increased risk of overuse injuries in youth athletes. In Japan, football is popular from an early age, but the degree of sport specialization and training volume has not been assessed. Objective To reveal the level of sport specialization and training volume of Japanese youth football players for examining the sport environment for preventing injuries. Design Cross-sectional study.Setting Elementary school and Junior High school (school grade 3 to 6, and 8 to 9).Participants 1597 male young (8 to 15y) football players.Assessment of Risk Factors Guardians of young athletes who belong to football club completed a web questionnaire regarding their children's specialization status using 3-point scale and weekly training volume. Main Outcome Measurements The ratio of high sports specialization, status of other sports activities, and the ratio of playing football on more than hours of age by week was compared using the chi-square test across school grade groups. Results The ratio of high sport specialization was significantly greater in school grades 5(46.6%), 6(52.8%), 8(51.0%), 9(56.5%) than in grade 3(33.3%), and in grades 6, 8, 9 than in grade 4(36.3%), p < 0.001, respectively. The ratio of those who are continuing other sports was significantly lower in grade 6(27.8%), 8(26.0%), 9(26.0%) than in grade 3(46.3%), and 4(43.3%), p < 0.001, respectively. The ratio of playing football on more than hours of age by week was increased in grade 8(34.5%).Conclusions Early sport specialization of Japanese youth football player has been increased from the early teenage years. Situations such as the difficulty of continuing other sports and the high training volume contribute to this result. In order to prevent the injuries, a sport environment in which other sports than football can be played and training volumes can be controlled is necessary. Download figure Open in new tab Download powerpoint Abstract 556 Figure 1