Pediatric Orthopaedics and Sports Injuries

John F. Sarwark earned his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School (now Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine) and is an alumnus member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at Northwestern University Affiliated Hospitals and completed training as a clinical fellow in pediatric orthopaedic surgery at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware. He is a recognized leader in the evaluation, management, and research of scoliosis in children and in medical education. Dr.Sarwark is active in numerous leadership activities and committees at Lurie Children's Hospital and NUFSM, including Research Strategic Planning LC; the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine and its Education and Residency Selection Committee, past Medical Faculty Senate Council Member and National Alumni Board Member. He is past President, Nathan Smith Davis (Alumni) Club of NUFSM. Dr. Sarwark is past Medical Director of the Motion Analysis Center at Children's Memorial Hospital. In 2004, he received the Pathways Awareness Foundation's first Pioneer Award for his work in the early detection of mobility problems in infants. In 2014, Dr. Sarwark received the prestigious Arnold Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); the Foundation Award 'honors a medical school faculty physician who exemplifies the qualities of a caring and compassionate mentor in the teaching and advising of medical students to emphasize, reinforce and enhance the importance of humanistic qualities among medical students and faculty.' Dr. Sarwark received the Distinguished Service Award, AAP Section on Orthopaedics, in 2015. Dr. Sarwark has served two terms as Chairman, Executive Committee/Section of Orthopaedics of the AAP as well as the Surgical Advisory Panel of the AAP. He served two terms on the AAP National Conference and Exhibition and Planning Group; he is a member of the Section on Sports Medicine and Fitness (SOSMF) of the AAP. Dr. Sarwark is an active member of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), on which he has twice served as a member of its Board of Directors and as Ex Officio member. He has served as Chair of POSNA's Liaison Committee with OKO of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Dr. Sarwark has chaired and contributes to numerous specialty society meetings and courses. He has served as a faculty member of the AAOS Basic Course for Orthopaedic Educators for 25 years. He has chaired the AAOS Committee on Patient Education and has served as a member of its Steering Committee on Collaboration Among Providers Involved with Musculoskeletal Care, among others. Dr. Sarwark is active in the Scoliosis Research Society and has served on its Education Committee, chaired the Fellowship Committee, Co-Chaired the Committee on Non-operative Management and is a past member of the SRS Worldwide Course Committee. He is a member of the American Orthopaedic Association, 20th Century Orthopaedic Association, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, Society for Research into Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida, and the American Society of Biomechanics, among others. Dr. Sarwark is recognized around the world as a surgeon leader and educator in his field. Dr. Sarwark has also mentored numerous fellows, residents, and students in the various facets of medical education and surgical training. Cynthia LaBella, MD, is the Medical Director of the Institute for Sports Medicine at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. After earning her medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York and finishing a residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Dr. LaBella completed a sports medicine fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is board certified in both Pediatrics and Sports Medicine, and joined Lurie Children’s in 2004 to develop a comprehensive program in pediatric sports medicine, encompassing clinical care, research, and community outreach. Dr. LaBella has served as team physician for youth, high school, college, elite, and professional teams. She is currently the head team physician for the USA Rhythmic Gymnastics National Team, De La Salle High School, and North Side Youth Football League in Chicago. Dr. LaBella is past chairperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness (COSMF) from 2014 to 2019, and prior to this she served for 7 years on the COSMF executive committee as its policy coordinator. In 2020, she was selected to serve on the President’s Council for Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition Science Board. Dr. LaBella is an active member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), where she has contributed as a co-author on several team physician consensus statements. In 2020, she was elected to the Board of Directors for the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine after serving on its research committee for many years. Dr. LaBella is also on the sports medicine advisory committees for the Illinois High School Association, US Soccer, and Pop Warner Football. Her research efforts focus on identification of risk factors for injury in youth sports and development of strategies for prevention. She won two awards for her 2006 research demonstrating that a coach-led neuromuscular warm-up reduces knee and ankle injuries in girls’ soccer and basketball at Chicago Public High Schools. This study was published in the November 2011 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. She also co-authored a 2015 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine which was the first to show that sports specialization is an independent risk factor for injury in children and adolescents. Her collaborative research with Northwestern University’s Department of Neuroscience has led to development of a novel auditory test that can help identify concussions and monitor recovery. Since the initial publication of this research in Nature’s Scientific Reports in 2016, Dr. LaBella and her collaborators have received a large grant from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment for a longitudinal study of this auditory test in the clinical setting.

Part 1: Growth and Motor Development
1. Normal Growth and Motor Development
2. Atypical Musculoskeletal Growth
Part 2: Musculoskeletal Evaluation
3. History
4. Physical Examination
5. Musculoskeletal Imaging
6. Laboratory Studies
Part 3: Approach to Infection
7. Osteomyelitis
8. Septic Arthritis
9. Miscellaneous Infections
Part 4: Evaluating the Limping Child
10. General Approach and Differential Diagnosis of the Limping Child
Part 5: Spinal Deformities
11. Idiopathic Scoliosis
12. Kyphosis
13. Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis
Part 6: Back Pain
14. General Approach and Differential Diagnosis of Back Pain
Part 7: Pediatric Cervical Spine
15. Basic Radiographic Interpretation
16. Torticollis
17. Atlantoaxial Rotatory Subluxation or Fixation
Part 8: Hip Disorders
18. Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip
19. Perthes Disease
20. Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis
21. Snapping Hip
22. Femoroacetabular Impingement
Part 9: Rotational and Angular Deformities
23. Rotational and Angular Deformities: General Treatment Guidelines
24. In-toeing
25. Out-toeing
26. Angular Deformities
Part 10: Upper Extremity Problems
27. Brachial Plexus Injuries
28. Nursemaid Elbow (Radial Head Subluxation)
29. Congenital Anomalies of the Upper Extremities
Part 11: Pediatric Sports Medicine and Injuries
30. Preparticipation Physical Evaluation
31. Sprains, Strains, and Dislocations
32. Traumatic Muscle Injuries
33. Overuse Injuries
34. Patellofemoral Disorders
35. Internal Derangement of the Knee (Knee Injury)
36. Sports-Related Concussion
37. Pediatric Athletes With Disabilities
Part 12: Common Fractures and Physeal Injuries
38. Pediatric Trauma Overview
39. Imaging Fractures
40. Fracture Types
41. Stages of Fracture Healing
42. Physeal Fractures
43. Bone Health
44. Common Fractures of the Upper Extremities
45. Common Fractures of the Lower Extremities
46. Casting and Splinting
47. Occult Fractures
48. Compartment Syndrome
49. Child Abuse
Part 13: Foot and Ankle
50. Foot and Ankle: General Considerations
51. Club Foot
52. Flatfoot
53. Metatarsus Adductus and Metatarsus Varus
54. Pes Cavus and Cavovarus
55. Calcaneal Valgus
56. Foot and Ankle: Miscellaneous Conditions
Part 14: Benign and Malignant Tumors
57. Benign and Malignant Tumors: Overview
58. Common Benign Tumors
59. Malignant Tumors
Part 15: Limb Length Discrepancy/Congenital Lower Extremity
60. Leg Length Discrepancy
Part 16: Neuromuscular Disorders, Part 1
61. Cerebral Palsy
62. Myelomeningocele (Spina Bifida)
Part 17: Neuromuscular Disorders, Part 2
63. Neurodegenerative Disorders
64. Hereditary Neuropathies
65. Spinal Muscular Atrophy
66. Friedreich Ataxia
67. Arthrogryposis
Part 18: Genetic Diseases and Syndromes
68. Skeletal Dysplasias
69. Metabolic Bone Diseases
70. Neurofibromatosis 1
71. Hemophilia
72. Achondroplasia
73. Down Syndrome
Part 19: Rheumatologic and Connective Tissue Diseases
74. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
75. Autoimmune Connective Tissue Diseases
76. Inherited Connective Tissue Diseases