Female high school athletes who are more specialized are five times more likely to have a history of concussion

By Malayka Gormally. This article was initially published in our Concussion Update newsletter; please consider subscribing.

A study found that female high school athletes who were highly specialized in their athletic pursuits were five times more likely to have a history of concussion compared to female high school athletes who were less specialized in their athletic pursuits. 

The study by Ehiamen T. Okoruwa, MD, et al., published in Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach, used data from questionnaires filled out by 219 female HS athletes to classify the athletes as having low, moderate, or high specialization. Compared to the athletes with low specialization, the high-specialization female athletes were 2.93 times more likely to have an injury history and 5 times more likely to have a history of concussion. 

For moderately specialized athletes, no odds ratio for a history of concussion is mentioned. Still, these athletes were 3.62 times more likely to have a stress fracture history than low-specialization athletes. The study authors suggest that understanding the risk stratification associated with specialization will aid “in preventing athlete injury.”