Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

The Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Department at Boston Children’s Hospital provides care for patients with a wide range of orthopedic conditions and sports injuries. No matter your child’s age or orthopedic condition, we have the resources and experience to tailor a care plan around their needs.

Our multi-disciplinary team includes a broad array of specialists — including pediatric orthopedic surgeons, orthopedic and sports medicine doctors, rehabilitation specialists, nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, and other clinicians trained in orthopedic care — all dedicated to caring for your child.

Together, we’ll create a custom plan that addresses all aspects of your child’s physical and emotional well-being. And we’ll work with you to ensure the plan works for your child and your family.

As children and teens grow, they need care from a team that understands how their bones and muscles change at every age and stage of development. At Boston Children’s, our clinicians aren’t just experts in orthopedics and sports medicine — we’re also experts in kids. 

Our specialized training allows us to tailor treatments to your child rather than using adult protocols that may not be right for them. Every year, our department treats more than 100,000 patients, allowing us to continually expand our knowledge of pediatric orthopedic conditions and treatments. This depth and breadth of experience translates to better outcomes for our patients.

The different joints, bones, and muscle groups in a child’s body develop in particular ways, and treating them requires specific knowledge and expertise. At Boston Children’s, if your child has a hip problem, they’ll be treated by a team of pediatric hip specialists. If they have a spine condition, they’ll be treated by a team of pediatric spine specialists.

Such specialization gives our clinical teams experience treating even the most complex orthopedic issues in children, experience we bring to your child’s care.

One of the most common questions parents ask is whether their child needs surgery. In fact, many of our patients thrive with conservative treatments such as bracing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and regenerative medicine.

If surgery is the right option for your child, our pediatric orthopedic surgeons typically recommend the least invasive procedures possible. For example, we may recommend arthroscopy, a type of surgery performed through small cuts. For pain management, we may use a nerve block catheter to reduce exposure to narcotic medications. These methods, and others like them, can help your child recover faster and return to activity sooner. 

You know your child best. That’s why we involve families in treatment decisions — to ensure that at each stage of their treatment, your child and their evolving needs remain at the center of the care we provide.

Through ongoing research, we continuously seek to make diagnostic methods more accurate and orthopedic procedures less invasive. By receiving care from clinicians engaged in research, our patients have access to the latest treatments from a team well versed in how to apply them.