Our work

The UCSF Sports Medicine Center for Young Athletes is a comprehensive, integrated clinical and research program which brings together orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, athletic trainers, primary care physicians, and kinesiologists to provide cutting edge care for athletes under the age of 18.

Led by Nirav Pandya, MD and Anthony Luke, MD, MPH the center has successfully published and presented nearly 30 abstracts and scientific papers.  They are also one of the few centers in the country participating in a prospective multi-center adolescent clavicle fracture registry as well as an adolescent shoulder instability registry.

Current projects

Motion analysis technology

The group is also using motion analysis technology to study normal and abnormal motion patterns with a mobile depth camera.  This innovative work is designed to assess for lower extremity injury risk, return to play after knee injuries, and prevention of ACL tears.  The study is a collaborative effort that is funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

There has been a tremendous rise in athletic injuries in the skeletally immature population.  This can be tied to the rise of sport specialization in this age group.  The risks of sport specialization have only recently become known.  Furthermore, with this rise in sports specialization, an increasing number of adult-type injuries are seen in younger patients.  Yet, there are factors which differentiate the treatment of these injuries from their adult counterparts. Nirav Pandya, MD and Brian Feeley, MD have worked together, combining the expertise of the adult and pediatric sports medicine services, to publish multiple studies in this topic area.

Topics covered in our research include: studies on patella instability; shoulder dislocations; anterior cruciate ligament reconstructive techniques; and revision surgery in the immature population.

Publications

1: Rugg C, Kadoor A, Feeley BT, Pandya NK. The Effects of Playing Multiple High School Sports on National Basketball Association Players' Propensity for Injury and Athletic Performance. Am J Sports Med. 2018 Feb;46(2):402-408. doi: 10.1177/0363546517738736. Epub 2017 Nov 14. PubMed PMID: 29135275.

2: Tangtiphaiboontana J, Zhang AL, Pandya NK. Outcomes of intra-articular corticosteroid injections for adolescents with hip pain. J Hip Preserv Surg. 2017 Jul 24;5(1):54-59. doi: 10.1093/jhps/hnx027. eCollection 2018 Jan. PubMed PMID: 29423251; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5798032.

3: Lau BC, Jagodzinski J, Pandya NK. Incidence of Symptomatic Pulmonary Embolus and Deep Vein Thrombosis After Knee Arthroscopy in the Pediatric and Adolescent Population. Clin J Sport Med. 2017 Oct 10. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000519. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29035980.

4: Wong SE, Feeley BT, Pandya NK. Complications After Pediatric ACL Reconstruction: A Meta-Analysis. J Pediatr Orthop. 2017 Sep 22. doi: 10.1097/BPO.0000000000001075. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28945689.

5: Lau BC, Conway D, Curran PF, Feeley BT, Pandya NK. Bipolar Bone Loss in Patients With Anterior Shoulder Dislocation: A Comparison of Adolescents Versus Adult Patients. Arthroscopy. 2017 Oct;33(10):1755-1761. doi: 10.1016/j.arthro.2017.04.004. Epub 2017 Jun 16. PubMed PMID: 28624240.

6: Lau BC, Pandya NK. Radiographic comparison of adolescent athletes with elbow osteochondritis dissecans to ulnar collateral ligament injuries and controls. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2017 Apr;26(4):589-595. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2016.09.037. Epub 2017 Jan 10. PubMed PMID: 28087165.

7: Hohn E, Pandya NK. Does the Utilization of Allograft Tissue in Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction in Pediatric and Adolescent Patients Restore Patellar Stability? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2017 Jun;475(6):1563-1569. doi: 10.1007/s11999-016-5060-4. PubMed PMID: 27590642; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5406326.

8: Smucny M, Parikh SN, Pandya NK. Consequences of single sport specialization in the pediatric and adolescent athlete. Orthop Clin North Am. 2015 Apr;46(2):249-58. doi: 10.1016/j.ocl.2014.11.004. Epub 2014 Dec 19. Review. PubMed PMID: 25771319.