The sports medicine experts at Dayton Children's offer a specialized, pediatric approach to handling your child or teen's sports injuries. We know how important it is to treat the growing body properly, so it keeps on growing.

Below are some of the conditions that we treat. If you have questions regarding a different condition or your child's symptoms please contact us at 937-641-3939.

asthma

You might remember a time when kids with asthma were discouraged from playing sports and told to take it easy. That's no longer the case. Being active, working out, and playing sports not only helps kids with asthma stay fit, maintain a healthy weight, and have fun but also can strengthen their breathing muscles and help the lungs work better. Learn more.

back pain

Back pain often is caused by muscle strain or sprain, often from an injury or wearing a heavy backpack. Back pain is fairly common, even in kids and teens. It can occur anywhere in the back, and might be a dull ache or a sharp, shooting pain.

bursitis

Bursitis is the term used to describe inflammation or irritation of a bursa. Bursitis, especially in teens, is often likely to happen because of sports-related injuries, usually from repeated use of a particular joint or trauma from a direct hit in a contact sport. Here are some of the areas in which teens most commonly get bursitis:

• Elbow- common in activities like throwing a ball or swinging a tennis racket
• Knee-common in activity that requires long periods of kneeling, such as a baseball catcher.
• Hip-often associated with running.
• Shoulder-common in overhead sports such as swimming, baseball, and tennis.
• Ankle-common in jumping, running, or walking especially when wearing poorly fitted shoes.

contusions

Often called a bruise, contusions happen a lot in sports. You should see a doctor if:

• A bruise isn't improving after 2 weeks.
• You bruise often and bruises seem to develop for no known reasons.
• Your bruise is swelling and very painful.
• You can't move a joint or you think you may have a broken bone.
• The bruise is near your eye and you have difficulty moving your eyes or seeing.

dislocations

A dislocation is an injury to a joint — a place where two or more of your bones come together — in which the ends of your bones are forced from their normal positions. Dislocations often occur in contact sports, such as football and hockey, and in sports that may involve falls, such as gymnastics and volleyball. Basketball players and football players also commonly dislocate joints in their fingers and hands by accidentally striking the ball, the ground or another player.

exercise induced asthma

Many kids with asthma have symptoms when they exercise. Cold, dry air that's inhaled during exercise is believed to be the main cause of these symptoms. But with careful management, they usually can do anything their peers can do. Learn more.

female athlete triad

Some girls who play sports or exercise intensely are at risk for a problem call female athlete triad. Female athlete triad is a combination of three conditions: disordered eating, anorexia nervosa, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. A female can have one, two, or all three parts of the triad.

growth injuries

Sinding-Larsen-Johansson (SLJ) syndrome is a painful knee condition that most commonly affects teens during periods of rapid growth. SLJ mostly happens to people between the ages of 10 and 15 because that's when most of us have growth spurts. Learn more.

heat iIlness

Under certain circumstances, such as unusually high temperatures, high humidity, or vigorous exercise in hot weather, this natural cooling system may begin to fail, allowing internal heat to build up to dangerous levels. The result may be heat illness, which can result in heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or heatstroke. Learn more.

iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS)

The iliotibial band is a band of fibrous tissue that runs down the outside of the thigh. The band may overdevelop, tighten, and rub across the hipbone or the outer part of the knee. Each time the knee is bent or the hip flexed, the band rubs against bone causing ITBS. This is particularly common in runners.

ligament sprains

A sprain is a stretching or tearing of ligaments, the tough, fibrous bands of tissue that connect bones to one another at a joint. Common sprains include the ankle, wrist, knee and shoulder ligaments.

muscle strains

A strain is a stretching or tearing of muscle tissue, commonly called a pulled muscle.

knee pain

Knee pain is a common complaint in most athletes, especially those who are still growing. Knee pain can be caused by many different conditions such as:

• Osgood-Schlatters disease - Osgood-Schlatter disease is an overuse injury of the knee. Frequent use and physical stress cause inflammation (pain and swelling) at the point where the tendon from the kneecap (called the patella) attaches to the shinbone (tibia). Learn More.
• Patellafemoral pain - patellofemoral pain syndrome or “runner's knee” is the term doctors use for a number of specific conditions affecting the knee, such as chondromalacia of the patella. It's the most common overuse injury among runners, but it can also strike other athletes who do activities that require a lot of knee bending. Learn more.
• Jumpers knee- Jumper's knee is an inflammation or injury of the patellar tendon. Learn more.
• Ligament sprains and tears such as the ACL, MCL, LCL, and PCL
• Meniscal tears

plantar fasciitis

At the bottom of your foot there's a thick band of connective tissue called the plantar fascia or arch tendon that can become inflamed and is called plantar fascitis. Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of heel pain in runners, dancers, and athletes in sports that involve a lot of running or jumping.

sever's disease 

Sever's disease, also called calcaneal apophysitis, is a painful bone disorder that results from inflammation (swelling) of the growth plate in the heel that occurs in kids. It can be painful, but is only temporary and has no long-term effects.

shin splints

Shin splints are often described as the aching in your shins during or after activity. Common causes of this pain included:

• Irritated and swollen muscles, often from overuse
• Stress fractures, which are tiny breaks in the lower leg bones
• Overpronation or ''flat feet" -- when the impact of a step makes your foot's arch collapse

skin infections

Minor trauma to the skin (such as scratches) and poor skin hygiene increase the potential for infection. Symptoms of these infections can vary depending on where they appear on the body. Common skin infections include ringworm and impetigo.

stress fractures

A stress fracture is a tiny crack in a bone that usually happens from overuse.

subluxation

A subluxation is a partial dislocation commonly occurring in the knee and shoulder joints.

tendonitis

Tendinitis (also called tendonitis) is an inflammation or irritation of a tendon, a thick cord that attaches bone to muscle. Tendinitis is most often caused by repetitive, minor impact on the affected area, or from a sudden more serious injury. Common tendonitis conditions include:

• Tennis elbow- Lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as tennis elbow, is a condition when the outer part of the eblow becomes inflammed and painful. This is typically caused by overuse.
• Little league elbow- Medial epicondylitis, commonly known as pitchers, golfers or little league elbow, is a condition when the inner part of the eblow becomes inflammed and painful. This is typically caused by overuse.
• Achilles tendonitis-Achilles tendonitis is a very common running injury. It happens when the achilles tendon becomes swollen or irretated due to overuse.
• Patellar tendonitis- Also known as jumpers knee.  Jumper's knee is an inflammation or injury of the patellar tendon. Learn more.