3 Common Childhood Injuries That Can Be Treated through Pediatric Orthopedics

General orthopedics has advanced by leaps and bounds in the past decade, and fortunately, these advances have also trickled down to pediatric orthopedics. Kids tend to get injured even more often than adults, and new pediatric orthopedics treatments are allowing millions of kids to get right back on to the field, court, diamond, or pitch.

If your child ever experiences any type of injury in an athletic setting, you should always consider visiting an orthopedic surgeon. Orthopedic surgery may be needed in some cases, but these surgeons also have non-invasive treatment plans and rehabilitation services to heal your child’s injuries. Additionally, parents of athletes should have these orthopedic surgeons on speed dial in the event of an emergency.

Every parent wants their child to stay as healthy as possible, but accidents do happen. Here are three common injuries to look for in your child that can be treated through pediatric orthopedics:

• Torn ACL/MCL. Sports medicine is quite the complex field, but perhaps the most common and recognizable sports injury is the torn ACL. Just about ten years ago, a torn ACL used to be a “death sentence” for the aspirations of young athletes. Now, it’s nothing more than a minor bump in the road with pediatric orthopedics treatment.
• Sprains and strains. Approximately 60% of all foot and ankle injuries among Americans older than 17 were sprains and strains of the ankle. However, sprains and strains are also extremely common in youth athletes, particularly soccer players. When these sprains and strains add up and transition to chronic pain, it’s time to visit an orthopedic surgeon.
• Back pain. A whopping 31 million Americans experience low-back pain at any given time, so it’s no surprise that many young athletes also deal with this discomfort. While your child may dismiss this as “soreness,” you need to seek treatment for their back pain before it worsens. Experts estimate that as many as 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some time in our lives, and many of these issues could have been avoided with early intervention.

It’s never fun to see your child in pain, which is why it’s so important to always have a treatment plan in place. Find an experienced pediatric orthopedics office in your area and keep them on speed dial in case of an emergency.