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Pediatric Sports Medicine

Highly Specialized Care for Young Athletes

Young athletes require specialized care due to their growing bodies. Their physiology is vastly different than adult athletes, including their bones, muscles, ligaments and joints. When pediatric sports injuries occur, accurate diagnosis and treatment are crucial to avoid long-term growth or developmental injury effects.

There are less than 200 board-certified and fellowship-trained pediatric sports medicine physicians in the country and all of the pediatric sports medicine experts at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s have this specialized training. In fact, we have a full team of sports medicine doctors dedicated to treating athletes of any age – from toddlers through adolescence and teenagers or young adults.

With our system-wide approach to sports medicine excellence, we apply the same clinical expertise and leading-edge therapies to our young athletes as we do for the most elite national and Olympic-level athletes. As part of a full service children’s hospital and comprehensive health system, we collaborate with renowned surgeons and specialists across many disciplines. This includes our adult sports medicine program, which is the official health care partner of the NFL Cleveland Browns. Our pediatric orthopaedic services include:

Our active recovery philosophy means we are committed to helping kids re-engage in their sports in a safe manner, and we only recommend they sit out when absolutely necessary. Our sports medicine specialists are passionate about helping young people get back to doing what they love, with a personalized and highly effective course of treatment.

Learn more reasons to choose UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s sports medicine for your child’s care.

Nationally Recognized, Multidisciplinary Team for Comprehensive Pediatric Sports Medicine Care

When treating young athletes, we consider the whole child. We work with sports psychologists for performance anxiety related issues, speech therapists for breathing related issues and even integrated medicine experts for therapies like massage, acupuncture and yoga. Young athletes who come to UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s have access to an entire network, all working together, to deliver the best sports medicine care possible.

Depending on the patient’s particular needs, the pediatric sports medicine care team may include:

  • Concussion management specialists
  • Neuropsychologists
  • Nutritionists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Orthopaedic nurses
  • Orthopaedic surgeons
  • Orthopaedists
  • Physical therapists
  • Primary care sports medicine physicians
  • Radiologists
  • Sports rehabilitation experts
  • Sleep experts
  • Speech therapists
  • Sports psychologists

Evidence-Based Sports Medicine Treatment from Prevention to Rehabilitation

Every step of our care – from diagnosis through recovery – is rooted in evidence-based medicine. As an academic medical center, we have access to the latest sports medicine research and medical findings. Our patients benefit from new and exciting techniques for a range of care, including injury prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

As a cohesive team, our physicians, surgeons, therapists, physical trainers and neuropsychologists work with patients, families, coaches, athletic trainers and primary care physicians to provide a complete range of sports medicine services for children and young adults. We work together to guide our patients and their families throughout the entire care journey, including:

  • Diagnosing and treating pediatric sports injuries
  • Educating children and parents on injury prevention
  • Maximizing performance
  • Providing baseline concussion tests
  • Determining when it is safe to return to play
  • Pre-participation physicals and evaluation

Safer and Faster Return to Play

With a highly-skilled and experienced team of pediatric sports medicine specialists, we provide world-class care for athletes of any age – at convenient locations across northern Ohio. Unlike orthopaedic generalists, our board-certified sports physicians have the specialized expertise to understand every aspect of athletic performance – including when young athletes can continue to compete during sports rehabilitation and when they need to focus solely on rest. We provide optimal treatment plans for improved recovery, including a range of non-surgical treatment options. Our team of sports medicine doctors will help your child return to what they love as quickly and safely as possible.