Pediatric Sports Medicine

If your child sustains an injury during sports or another type of physical activity, they might benefit from seeing a pediatric sports medicine provider for treatment. While some sports medicine providers work with professional athletes, some treat children and teens who have injuries due to physical activities. From injury recovery to maintaining sports performance to injury prevention, we handle it all.

While many facilities treat sports-related bone and soft tissue injuries, few have the pediatric services needed to meet the needs of children and adolescents, including pediatrics-trained providers such as pediatric physical therapists and anesthesia professionals. Children who have disabilities or complex medical conditions can also have sports-related or soft tissue injuries. Even fewer facilities are equipped like Gillette to meet the needs of children who have disabilities or complex medical conditions. 

Your child will receive care from our experienced, multidisciplinary team, which may include an orthopedic surgeon, a pediatric primary care sports medicine physician, orthopedic nurse practitioner, and physical therapist – all of whom are trained in treating acute and chronic sports medicine injuries in youth, adolescents, teens, and young adults. 

Sports injuries can have causes such as trauma, overuse, an imbalance of strength or joint range of motion, or pre-existing conditions. Our sports medicine experts understand underlying causes and can determine the best treatments for the following conditions:

• Upper and lower extremity injuries/pain.
• ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), MCL (medial cruciate ligament), and LCL (lateral cruciate ligament) tears.
• Tibial spine/eminence fracture.
• Discoid meniscus.
• Meniscus injury.
• Patellar instability/dislocation.
• Patellofemoral pain.
• Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD).
• Cartilage injuries and defects.
• Shoulder instability/pain.

Getting a second opinion is particularly helpful with a complex or unclear diagnosis or treatment that is no longer working. Having another expert’s opinion can help you feel more knowledgeable and confident when taking the next steps to care for your child.  

During your care journey, you can count on Gillette Children's to bring together services in a way that’s both comprehensive and convenient. If your child has a sports-related or soft tissue injury, we’ll help you coordinate the services and specialties you need. For comprehensive sports injury treatment, your family might work with experts in:  

• Child life
• Nursing
• Orthotics, Prosthetics, and Seating
• Occupational therapy
• Orthopedics
• Physical therapy
• Radiology and imaging
• Rehabilitation medicine
• Social work
• Therapeutic recreation