The risks of youth sports specialization and overuse injuries: How to win at youth sports, from WKYC

Specialization in youth sports often leads to overuse injuries, and it’s a pattern that is all too common among today’s youth athletes.

Common overuse injuries in young athletes include tendonitis, bone stress fractures and growth plate injuries.

“Because you’re doing the same movement pattern over and over again that’s one thing can create an injury. I think the other thing is not doing, any strength conditioning or focusing on that and just playing one sport all the time,” Brent Pekarski, PT, DPT, outpatient supervisor and director of physical therapy at UH Rehabilitation Services told WKYC.

WKYC, in partnership with cleveland.com for its series “How to win at youth sports (without going broke or breaking down),” spoke with youth athletes and doctors about their experience with sports specialization and overuse injuries.

Learn more about the risks of sports specialization and overuse injuries at WKYC’s website.

In our partnership with WKYC called “How to win at youth sports (without going broke or breaking down),” we talked to experts, coaches and families about the current landscape and what we can do better to develop healthy, well-adjusted players.