The Pediatric Orthopedic Center recently launched the Center of Excellence for the Female Athlete to meet the specialized needs and injuries of young female athletes.
Comprised of three female pediatric orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Samara Friedman, Dr. Anna Katsman and Dr. Sarah Stelma, and a nationally certified orthopedic physician assistant, Jaime Morley, the Cedar Knolls-based center will focus on the unique medical conditions and injuries due to trauma or overuse of young female patients.
“Our keen focus is on the specialized needs and injuries of female athletes, including their unique physical and medical conditions, as well as psychological pressures,” Friedman said. “The Center of Excellence for the Female Athlete offers a safe space for female athletes to discuss their injuries, concerns and needs with highly credentialled, compassionate female providers. As athletes, sports team coaches and physicians that have experience working with professional sports teams, as well, we bring deep expertise to this specialized area of practice.”
Girls’ participation in high school sports has grown from less than 300,000 in the early 1970s to almost 3.5 million during the 2018-19 school year. In fact, female adolescents now make up almost 43% of high school athletes, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. Due to their unique anatomical differences, female athletes are at an increased risk of sustaining anterior cruciate ligament tears and overuse injuries compared with their male counterparts, for example, and are especially susceptible to injury during periods of rapid growth.
TPOC offers cutting-edge diagnostic tools, including the highly-accurate, low-dose EOS Imaging system, the only one of its kind in northern New Jersey, as well as the latest treatment options, such as the BEAR (bridge-enhanced anterior cruciate ligament repair) technique, to treat a myriad of injuries and orthopedic conditions, including:
- Knee injuries: ACL tears, meniscus tears, and kneecap dislocations;
- Shoulder and elbow injuries: sprains, tears, dislocation and instability;
- Hip injuries: hip dysplasia, sprains, strains, impingement and labral tears;
- Foot and ankle injuries, including ankle sprains;
- Scoliosis and other spine deformities;
- Fractures, ligament and muscle/tendon injuries;
- Overuse and growth plate injuries, including osteochondritis dissecans.
