Leading sports medicine for children, teens, and young adults

As the first and largest pediatric sports medicine practice in the country, the Sports Medicine Division at Boston Children’s Hospital provides athletes of all ages the care they need to reach their athletic potential.

Young athletes aren’t small adults. They have different injury risks, heal differently, and often have different mental and emotional responses to injury. As experts in pediatric sports medicine, we tailor care to each individual athlete’s age and stage of growth.

We are a diverse team of sports medicine specialists, many of whom competed in high school and college sports. We know how hard athletes work to achieve their goals and understand — when injured — their desire to return to sport with the lowest possible risk of getting injured again.

November 19, 2025

3D imaging could become standard practice in orthopedics. Here’s how.

It took a trained eye to see the abnormality on the patient’s X-ray. There, hidden behind the acetabulum was the shadow of a small bone spur. “At first glance, this looks like a normal, healthy…

June 10, 2025

Ask a sports medicine specialist: Why are ACL tears so common among female athletes?

When an athlete is sprinting after an opponent who suddenly stops or changes direction, their anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs) make it possible for them to continue their pursuit. This much talked…

April 23, 2025

Jackie’s dreams of playing professional soccer back on track after ACL surgery

From her dorm in Newcastle, England, Jackie Zapata can hear fans roaring in the soccer stadium a few blocks away. Soccer is a major pastime in her adopted home. “The city gets amped up anytime there…

Sports medicine specialists near you

Our sports medicine team offers personalized care for young athletes in multiple convenient locations across Massachusetts:

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Clinician holds stethoscope against chest of teen male
Meet our team
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Clinician points at imagery of injured knee
Programs and services
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Clinician works with patient during exercise as patient lay on floor
Injury prevention by sport

Caring for young athletes, from local leagues to the international stage

We care for athletes in clinical settings — and bring care directly into the community, onto the fields, and into the athletic facilities where athletes practice and compete.

We help elite athletes train and compete at the highest levels, including:

  • Boston Ballet
  • Boston Marathon 
  • Providence Bruins
  • U.S. Figure Skating
  • U.S. Rugby
  • U.S. Rowing

We also provide real-time injury evaluation and support for more than 30 school and college teams throughout New England as they compete. From common to uncommon, from simple to severe, we know how sports injuries happen, the best ways to treat them, and the most effective strategies to prevent them.

  • Arlington High School
  • Bedford High School
  • Braintree High School
  • Dean College
  • Dexter Southfield School
  • Dover-Sherborn High School
  • Emmanuel College
  • Hanover High School
  • Hingham High School
  • Middlesex School
  • Milton Academy
  • Needham High School
  • New Bedford High School
  • Newton South High School
  • Nobles and Greenough School
  • Regis College
  • Roxbury Latin School
  • The Fessenden School
  • UMass Lowell
  • Watertown High School
  • Wentworth College

What is sports medicine?

Any number of factors can contribute to a sports injury. School demands, training regimens, eating habits, movement patterns, and conditions like diabetes and asthma — all can play a role in an athlete’s injury risk.

At Boston Children’s, sports medicine is a practice that focuses on the whole athlete. You may receive care from a sports medicine physician, surgeon, physical therapist, injury-prevention specialist, dietitian, psychologist, mental-skills coach, and athletic trainer.

While few athletes need all of these services, you can rest assured you’ll have access to the resources you need to return to your sport healthy and strong.

Sports medicine specialties

Cutting edge research, innovative procedures

When you come to the Sports Medicine Division, you’ll have access to leading treatment methods, delivered by experts who are literally writing the book on sports medicine.

Through ongoing research, from analyzing surgical outcomes for ACL injuries to using sports ultrasound to diagnose hip instability in dancers, we are creating new and better ways to prevent and treat sports injuries — both in New England and around the world.