The Center for Child & Adolescent Sports Medicine

Youth sports participation has exploded over the past several decades with more young people enjoying sports than ever before. Athletic participation has increased in grade schools, high schools and community programs, and now tens of millions of youth in this country are participating in organized sports on an annual basis. Significant numbers of these young athletes are participating in sports in settings outside of traditional organized scholastic teams. Unfortunately, with the explosion of youth sports participation, there has been a significant rise in the incidence and variety of sports injuries. These injuries include fractures, dislocations, ligament and cartilage injuries, shin splints, concussions and the more common varieties of sprains and strains. Sports related injuries in children represent the second leading reason for emergency room visits and the second leading cause of injury in schools. Approximately 3 million children are seen in the emergency room setting each year, and millions more visit their family physicians or specialists for evaluation and management of sports related injuries.

Young athletes have special needs. Because their bodies are growing, they often require different coaching, conditioning, and medical care than more mature athletes. There are marked differences in coordination, strength and stamina between a child and an adult. In young athletes, bone-tendon-muscle units, growth areas within bones, and ligaments experience uneven growth patterns, leaving them susceptible to injuries, which are different than those experienced by adults. The goal of The Center for Child & Adolescent Sports Medicine is to establish a local and regional referral center for the comprehensive evaluation and treatment of sports related injuries in this unique athletic population of children. The center is headed by a sports medicine specialist with expertise in ligament reconstruction and arthroscopic surgery. A specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation is present to guide the rehabilitation of the injured athlete. The center provides a multidisciplinary approach to provide the finest care in treating children and adolescents with sports related injuries. Providing early and comprehensive care of orthopaedic injuries can help young athletes heal and return to competition with less chance of repeated injury. Treatments will vary according to the patient's condition, but may include bed rest, elevation, compression bandages, crutches, cast immobilization or physical therapy.

Additional goals of the center include extensive clinical research in the field of adolescent sports medicine. Through studies of the incidence and etiology of sports related injuries, educational programs can be developed to help prevent these injuries. It has been estimated that up to 50% of all organized youth sports injuries can be prevented through education of players, coaches and parents. In the past, research into the etiology of head and neck injuries in football led to the implementation of prevention strategies, which significantly reduced the incidence of these very serious injuries. By studying and developing strategies for injury prevention and disseminating this information to the public, the center will positively impact youth participation in athletic activity.

Evaluations at the Center for Child & Adolescent Sports Medicine are designed to:

1. Definitively diagnose the type and extent of injury affecting the child or adolescent
2. Determine the most effective treatment plan for return of function and return to the previous level of athletic activity
3. Establish a physical therapy program within this unique rehabilitation setting designed specifically for children
4. Define predisposing factors and identify "high risk" activity patterns which may have led to injury
5. Design and implement strategies for the prevention of future injuries

The Center is also actively involved in research in the area of childhood and adolescent sports medicine.

These areas include:

1. The evaluation of cardiac and respiratory dysfunction as it relates to participation in athletic activity
2. The study of exercise physiology in a youth population to help design appropriate pre-season and intra-seasonal training programs as well as the development of general fitness guidelines
3. The development of a physiology and gait laboratory with state of the art medical technology to aid EMG and gait studies which will serve to analyze and improve athletic performance
4. Evaluations of the effectiveness of surgical therapy for children with sports related injuries
5. Collaboration with other surgical centers to better understand the factors that predict surgical success or failure, and how surgical interventions impact the quality of life of young patients and their families

For more information regarding the Center for Child & Adolescent Sports Medicine contact :

Jeffrey E. Rosen, M.D.
Director of the Child & Adolescent Sports Medicine Center
305 Second Avenue, Suite #2
New York, NY 10003
212-598-6579
jeffrey.rosen@nyu.edu

Heidi Goldstein, M.D.
301 East 17th Street
New York, NY 10003
212-598-2324