A physician specialized in sports medicine and musculoskeletal care for children and adolescents — treating youth athletic injuries, overuse syndromes, fractures, concussions, and the return-to-play decisions that affect growing athletes. Combines pediatric training with sports medicine fellowship.
Most days tend to involve clinic visits with pediatric and adolescent patients — acute injuries (fractures, sprains, concussions), overuse syndromes (Sever's, Osgood-Schlatter, little leaguer's elbow, stress fractures), pre-participation physicals, return-to-play decisions, and concussion management. You'll often see young athletes alongside their parents, partner with pediatric orthopedic surgeons for surgical questions, and coordinate with PTs and ATCs on rehab.
The variance between settings is real — academic pediatric sports medicine programs at children's hospitals and major medical centers handle the highest-acuity cases and complex youth athlete care; community-based pediatric sports medicine ranges from primary-care-trained sports medicine physicians to pediatric orthopedic surgeons; some pediatric sports medicine docs cover specific high school or youth sports teams; concussion clinics often have specialized pediatric tracks. Pediatric Sports Medicine CAQ or fellowship credentialing matters.
People who tend to thrive here are comfortable with the developmental considerations of growing athletes, capable of family communication about return-to-play decisions, and energized by the relational work with young athletes. Pediatric residency plus sports medicine fellowship, or pediatric orthopedic background anchors paths. The work tends to offer strong compensation, schedule predictability, and meaningful athlete-and-family impact, with the trade-off being the often-emotional dimensions of injured young athletes wanting to return to sport — for those drawn to youth sports medicine, the role offers durable craft.
Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.
Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Healthcare roles →A physician specialized in sports medicine and musculoskeletal care for children and adolescents — treating youth athletic injuries, overuse syndromes, fractures, concussions, and the return-to-play decisions that affect growing athletes. Combines pediatric training with sports medicine fellowship.
Median pay for a Pediatric Sports Medicine Specialist is about $208K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $67K to $208K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, and Monitoring.
Most people in this role hold a professional degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 2.5% through 2034, with roughly 315,360 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Sports Doctor, Team Physician, and Sports Physician.
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