Sport and exercise medicine, The Children's Hospital at Westmead
Contact
Phone: (02) 7825 0761 between 9:00am and 4:30pm weekdays.
Email: SCHN-CHISMSMS@health.nsw.gov.au
Location: Suite 13 Level 2, Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, Hainsworth St, Westmead
About our service
Our service is the only dedicated paediatric sport and exercise medicine service in Australia.
We provide comprehensive paediatric sports and exercise medicine services to children across the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area and NSW country areas.
We use an ambulatory model of care, primarily outpatient based, offering inpatient consultation to other specialty services to assist with early discharge.
The clinical team includes paediatricians, sports physicians and exercise physiologists with input from physiotherapy services.
Our service includes:
- Musculoskeletal and sports injury clinic
- Exercise testing and prescription
- Concussion evaluation and management
- Assessment of exercise intolerance
Referral and appointment information
To make an appointment, you will need a referral letter to the specialist by name.
Bookings can be made by contacting our department on (02) 7825 0761 weekdays between 9:00am and 4:30pm.
Conditions we treat
- Acute sports injuries, including minor fractures and avulsions, sprains and strains, ligament injuries, joint dislocations
- Overuse musculoskeletal sports injuries (including traction apophysitis, stress fractures, tendinopathy)
- Sport-related concussion and return to sport clearance, for children and adolescents without prior neurologic or neurosurgical co-morbidities
- Growth-related musculoskeletal conditions in exercising children and adolescents (e.g. osteochondroses)
- Exercise-related symptoms including dyspnoea, cough, muscle pain, headache, abdominal pain, syncope, urticarial and poor exercise tolerance
- Heat-related illness and performance issues related to heat intolerance
- Unique conditions of the athlete with special needs
- Advice regarding sport/exercise/injury prevention/Therapuetic use exemptions(TUEs)/performance enhancement/overtraining
Exercise testing and prescription for special paediatric populations including children with:
- Diabetes/Insulin resistance
- Cancer
- Metabolic myopathies
- Haemophilia
- Connective tissue diseases
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome/Orthostatic Intolerance
- Metabolic bone diseases
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Neurological disease (BIH, CVA)
- Cardiorespiratory disease
Referrals better managed by other clinical services
- Children under school age (alternative path – General Paediatrician)
- Gait abnormalities in preschoolers (alternative path – Orthopaedics/Developmental paediatrician)
- Obesity without complications (alternative path – Weight Management Unit)
- Non sport-related concussion (alternative path – Neurology/Kids Rehab)
- Investigation of poor gross motor skills (alternative path – General or Developmental paediatrician)
- Fractures, not including stress fractures or avulsion fractures (alternative path – Orthopaedics)
Triage categories
- Cat 1 - < 7 days (e.g. acute sports injuries – suspected avulsion fractures, acute knee injuries including suspected anterior cruciate ligament tears or patella-femoral dislocations)
- Cat 2 - < 14 days (e.g. All other acute sports injuries, concussion, all ED referrals)
- Cat 3 - < 30 days (e.g. children with cancer/post-BMT, stress fractures)
- Cat 4 - < 3 months (e.g. osteochondroses, CFS/POTS, mitochondrial myopathies, Type I diabetes)
- Cat 5 - 3-6 months (e.g. insulin resistance, joint hypermobility syndrome)
Clinic information
Outpatients clinic
Location: Suite 13 Level 2, Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, Hainsworth St, Westmead
Clinic days: Alternate Mondays, Alternate Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays
Consultants:
- Dr Carolyn Broderick
- Prof. Gary Browne
- Dr Damien McKay
Exercise testing
Exercise testing involves a walk/run on our treadmill or cycling on a bike while clinical measures such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen consumption are recorded.
We might also test your strength and balance.
For the exercise test, please bring:
- Running shoes/trainers
- Exercise clothing
- A bottle of water
The day before the test:
- Drink plenty of fluids
- Get a good night’s sleep
On the day of the test:
- Come prepared to exercise
- Avoid food, caffeine for three hours before taking the test, but ensure you have eaten before that
- Avoid strenuous exercise on the day of the test
- Continue your regular medications unless you have been advised otherwise
Concussion aftercare
