Adolescent Sports Medicine

Welcome to the Pediatric Sports Medicine Center of Excellence

More children and teens are participating in organized sports than ever before. Although The Pediatric Orthopedic Center encourages kids to be active, more sports means more sports-related injuries.

When it comes to children’s sports, although parents and coaches work hard to maintain a safe playing environment, sports injuries among children and adolescents do happen. When they do, you can turn to The Pediatric Orthopedic Center’s sports medicine specialist.

Pediatric sports medicine is a subspecialty of orthopedics that deals with athletic injuries in children and adolescents. Pediatric sports medicine specialists recognize that children are not just small adults and therefore may need an approach to treatment which may be different than the way adults would be treated. 

Although many injuries may be similar to those found in adults, some injuries are isolated to children and teens – specifically those affecting the growth plates.  Some of these can masquerade as sprains, and if not caught and treated properly, can be detrimental to a child’s growth.

Many injuries that may require surgery in adults sometimes can be treated nonoperatively in children. When surgery is needed, techniques that are different than those used for adults are often required.

The techniques created specifically for children advance and change rapidly. If your child is injured you want a pediatric sports medicine specialist who is well-versed in these technical procedures. The doctors at The Pediatric Orthopedic Center are experts in the latest arthroscopic and minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Orthopedic surgeons with specialized children’s sports medicine training evaluate and treat a variety of injuries in children and teens, including:

• Osteochondritis dessicans (OCD) – injury to the cartilage in the joint
• Dislocations – shoulder, elbow, patella (kneecap)
• Fractured/broken bones and growth plate injuries
• Sprains/strains – ligament and muscle/tendon injuries
• ACL tears and meniscus tears
• Little league shoulder and little league elbow
• Overuse injuries/tendonitis

…and more.

The biggest advantages of seeing a pediatric orthopedic specialist or surgeon with children’s sports medicine training is that they understand the needs of a growing child’s bones and muscles and are adept at soothing the anxieties of young patients and their parents.

If you would like to learn more about how to prevent childhood sports injuries, read our blogs Seven Rules for Sports Safety and Fall Sports Injury Prevention.

Whether your young athlete is a toddler jumping on a playground, a child playing a school sport or a collegiate athlete, the pediatric sports medicine specialists at The Pediatric Orthopedic Center are your child’s best advocates and guardians for their present and future physical well-being.

If your child has sustained a sports injury, please do not hesitate. Call today at 973-538-7700 or request an appointment online and meet our team of award-winning doctors at The Pediatric Orthopedic Center.