Our specialty-trained pediatric orthopaedic doctors at North Louisiana Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Clinic are experts in providing experienced care for orthopaedic injuries and conditions of pediatric patients.

Pediatric orthopaedic doctors are trained to work with children, from newborns to 18-year-olds, who have an injury or condition related to the musculoskeletal system, which includes the bones, joints, muscles, and soft tissues of the body. Sometimes, these conditions are congenital and appear when a child is born. However, if they are treated early on by an experienced pediatric orthopaedic doctor, future problems can often be avoided, and the child can go on to use the affected extremity normally. Sometimes, these abnormalities require surgeries, but other times, pediatric orthopaedic doctors can use nonsurgical methods, such as prescribing a back brace, to help the bones grow properly.

Examples of injuries and conditions pediatric orthopaedic doctors often treat are sports injuries, juvenile arthritis, foot and hand conditions or deformities, and scoliosis. When seeking out a pediatric orthopaedic doctor, you should consider not only his or her medical expertise, but also his or her ability to understand the overall challenges children with acute or congenital orthopaedic issues face and how to best address them.

When It’s Time to Seek Pediatric Orthopaedic Care

Take note of the symptoms your child is experiencing and communicate those to your doctor so they will have a better understanding of what may be happening. Here are just some of the symptoms that children with pediatric orthopaedic problems typically have:

• Child walks pigeon-toed
• Complaints of joint pain
• Extra or webbed fingers
• Favoring one joint because the other is painful
• Joint tenderness
• Legs are bowed
• Limbs are different lengths
• Lingering pain after a playground accident
• Painful joint after participating in sports
• Swelling below the knee

If any of these symptoms describe your child’s issue, it’s possible that they may have one of these orthopaedic conditions or injuries:

• AC joint injury
• Conditions of the foot (clubfoot, Sever’s disease, metatarsus varus, etc.)
• Conditions of the hand (polydactyly, syndactyly, etc.)
• Developmental dysplasia of the hip
• Femoral anteversion
• Growth plate fracture
• Osgood-Schlatter disease
• Osteochondroma (exostosis)
• Radial head subluxation (pulled elbow)
• Scoliosis
• Sports injury

Pain can have a negative effect on your child’s life, leaving them unable to participate in everyday activities. If the pain and underlying condition remain untreated, there is a risk of further injury or damage occurring, which is why it’s imperative to contact one of our pediatric orthopaedic specialists and set up a consultation.