Paediatric & Young Athlete Conditions
Children and young people deserve specialist care, not a scaled-down version of adult physiotherapy. At Prime Sports Physiotherapy in Edinburgh, we are proud to be a leading clinic for paediatric physiotherapy and youth sports injuries, uniquely placed to support young people from the age of five through to elite teenage athletes competing at national and international level. With over 30 years of experience working with children and young people, including international rugby coverage, multisport environments, and children referred from leading hospitals, looking after young people is at the heart of everything we do.
What sets Prime apart is our ability to combine specialist paediatric physiotherapy with elite sports physiotherapy expertise under one roof. Growing bodies can develop conditions unique to childhood and adolescence, from growth plate injuries and juvenile joint conditions to the particular way young bodies respond to sport and load, as well as presenting with many of the same conditions we see in adults but requiring a very different approach to assessment and treatment. Our depth of knowledge in both paediatric and sports physiotherapy, and the way we bring the two together to support young people and their families, is what makes Prime the go-to clinic for children and young athletes in Edinburgh and the Lothians. We work closely with children and their families throughout the process, ensuring every young person feels comfortable, understood, and supported, and that parents feel informed and involved at every stage. Our goal is always the same: to help every child and young person recover, perform, and thrive.
What conditions do we treat?
Growing bodies are not simply smaller adult bodies. They have unique vulnerabilities, respond differently to load and injury, and require a specialist approach that takes into account the stage of physical development as well as the demands being placed on them. We regularly assess and treat a wide range of conditions in children and young people including growing pains, Osgood-Schlatter disease, Sever’s disease, jumper’s knee and patellar tendinopathy, anterior knee pain, hypermobility, scoliosis, spinal pain, growth plate injuries, stress fractures, fractures following falls and accidents, ligament sprains, muscle strains, shoulder dislocations and subluxations, and overuse injuries that develop gradually through training and competition.
For older teenagers and elite youth athletes, we also manage more complex presentations including ACL reconstructions, shoulder stabilisations, and post-operative rehabilitation following orthopaedic surgery. We use objective performance testing and athlete profiling to ensure young athletes are truly ready to return to full training and competition, removing the guesswork from one of the most critical decisions in a young person’s sporting career.
What does an appointment involve?
Sessions begin with a thorough and friendly assessment where we listen carefully to both the child and their parent or carer. Treatment draws on hands-on therapy, age-appropriate rehabilitation exercises, load management, and activity modification guidance. Strength training and conditioning play an important role in the recovery and long-term development of young athletes, helping to build the physical foundations that support performance, reduce injury risk, and prepare the body for the increasing demands of training and competition as they grow.
We also work closely with young people and their families to find the right balance between training, competition, rest, and recovery. Young athletes today are often highly committed and highly driven, which is a wonderful thing, but managing load carefully is one of the most important factors in keeping them healthy, performing well, and enjoying their sport for the long term. Getting that balance right is a significant part of what we do, and we approach it with sensitivity and without judgment, working with the whole team around the child including parents and coaches where helpful.
Where appropriate we also provide advice on nutrition, performance optimisation, and how to build the resilience, confidence, and leadership qualities that serve young athletes throughout their careers and beyond. We understand the pressures young people face balancing school, training, and competition, and we work to support the whole young person, not just the injury.
Who is it for?
Our paediatric and youth physiotherapy service is suitable for children and young people of all ages and abilities, from those just starting out in sport to elite athletes competing at the highest level. You do not need a referral to book. Parents and carers can contact us directly to arrange an appointment.
