What is pediatric sports medicine?
Pediatric sports medicine is the branch of sports medicine that studies diseases or injuries that affect people’s ability to exercise or perform sports activities.
A pediatric sports medicine specialist has the skills, experience and training to treat specific problems at younger ages.
Injuries and medical problems in bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints are often different in growing children than in adult patients. Thus, special training coupled with pediatric sports medicine experience makes these specialists capable of appropriately treating the child’s medical needs.
Pediatric sports medicine specialists practice in a variety of settings, such as children’s hospitals, orthopedic clinics, hospitals, private clinics….
The pediatric sports physician treats the following:
- Youth and children who practice or wish to practice sports and have some kind of chronic disorder.
- To evaluate the health and physical condition of adolescents and children.
- Stress test
- Issuance of medical certificate to practice federated sports.
- Sports nutrition
- Physiotherapy
- Treatment and rehabilitation of injuries
Sports injuries in children are not the same as those in adults.
What diseases does pediatric sports medicine treat?
The pediatric sports medicine specialist treats and monitors musculoskeletal problems in children and adolescents. Some of the common treatments include the following:
- Sprains and strains
- Dislocations
- Ligament injuries
- Dislocations
- Fractures and minor avulsions
- Tendinitis
- Apophyses
- Cartilage injuries
- Injuries due to sports excesses
- Asthma introduced by sports practice
- Trauma and contusions
- Nutrition and food supplements
- Diabetes
- Eating disorders
- Stress fractures
- Overload
- Unique conditions of the athlete with specific specific needs
When to see a pediatric sports physician?
If a Pediatrician suggests that the child or adolescent should be seen by a pediatric sports medicine specialist, the pediatrician should be seen, as the pediatrician is confident that the specialist will offer the patient a range of treatment options.