Services at Pediatric Orthopedics at Ridgewood

A congenital condition in which a baby's foot is twisted out of shape.

The tendons on the inside and the back of the foot are too short. The foot is pulled such that the toes point down and in, and it is held in this position by the shortened tendons.

Clubfoot will delay a child's development when they learn to walk, so treating clubfoot soon after birth is recommended.

Foot injuries are among the most common issues that affect children and teenagers because of the complexity of the foot's structure.

Since many ankle and foot conditions prevent a child from participating fully in their daily routine, we aim to get kids back on their feet as soon as possible so they can walk and run with ease. Common foot conditions we treat include:

• In-toeing
• Out-toeing
• Bowed legs
• Flat foot
• Ankle fractures

Shoulder injuries are common in children because of the frequency of their arm movement and the stress placed on their arms during certain sports. Injuries can range from soreness to fractures or tears of ligaments and tendons.

Common shoulder injuries include:

• Clavicle acromioclavicular (AC) and sternoclavicular (SC) joint
• Labral tears
• Little league shoulder
• Rotator cuff injury
• Overuse syndrome

The hand is the most frequently injured part of the body in pediatric and adolescent groups.

Most fractures can be treated non-surgically and the majority heal without complications when treated properly.

Common hand problems include:

• Gymnast wrist
• Brachial plexus birth palsy
• Congenital hand abnormalities

Anterior knee pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints among pediatric and adolescent patients. Many visits to sports medicine practitioners are for anterior knee pain.

Osgood-Schlatter disease is also a common cause of knee pain, but unlike sprains and other injuries, it is usually not very serious and has no long-term effects.

Common knee conditions we treat include:

• Patella malalignment
• Medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury
• Meniscal tear
• Osgood-Schlatter disease
• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear

Since children are still growing and developing, they experience different types of sports-related injuries than adults. It's critical that they receive proper treatment from pediatric sports surgeons who are skilled in sports medicine in order to ensure that their bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons continue to develop normally post injury.

Depending on the injury, we treat athletic injuries in children and adolescents through surgical and non-surgical management of sports injuries.

Fractures are very common in children. Because of a child's growing bones and growth plates, it is important that their fractures are treated correctly.

Children's bones have an amazing capacity for healing. Even when bone is not injured it is constantly in a state of turnover, continually absorbing and replacing the cells that make up our bones; because of this natural turnover, the process of healing bone also comes quite naturally.

Some common fractures include:

• Ankle fractures
• Elbow fractures
• Growth plate fractures
• Wrist fractures
• Leg fractures

Scoliosis is an abnormal growth in the spinal column, which causes curvature and rotation.

Infantile scoliosis occurs in very young children and juvenile scoliosis occurs in children aged 10 or younger.  Adolescent Idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is the most common type of scoliosis and is present in approximately 2% of the general population in children aged 10-18.

Children who have mild scoliosis are monitored closely, usually with X-rays, to see if the curve is getting worse. In many cases, no treatment is necessary. Some children will need to wear a brace to stop the curve from worsening. Only about 2% need surgery to straighten severe cases of scoliosis.

A number of hip disorders and injuries can affect young children and adolescents. These range from congenital defects to acute traumatic injuries.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip includes a broad spectrum of abnormalities of the hip joint that may be present around the time of birth or during childhood.

Common hip disorders:

• Hip dysplasia
• Perthes' disease
• Slipped capital femoral epiphysis