New Clinic For Youth Sports Injuries Opens In Walnut Creek

If you need any evidence that youth sports is booming in the East Bay, you don't need to look any farther than a refurbished facility in Walnut Creek.

Two weeks ago, the Children's Specialty Care Clinic opened a new sports medicine clinic in a new wing of its facility in the Shadelands Business Park on the east side of town.

The care clinic is an extension of the Children's Hospital & Research Center in Oakland. The Walnut Creek facility offers many of the same children-oriented medical services but in a more convenient location for people who live east of the Caldecott Tunnel.

The first phase of the clinic opened about six years ago. It included basic outpatient services.

The second phase was completed about four years ago. That wing included surgery and radiology.

The third phase was the sports medicine clinic as well as a sleep disorder and hearing and speech center for children.

Cameo Gore, the Walnut Creek campus director of operations, said it's important to have medical facilities that deal solely with children.

She said the medical professionals are more in tune with the needs of children and their parents. There are also differences in dosages and other practices with younger patients.

For example, in the pediatric labs the medical staff uses a smaller Butterfly needle to draw blood. Parents are also with the child through the entire process.

The surgery has a waiting area right outside the operation room where a parent can be with the child up until the time they are wheeled in on the gurney for surgery.

"This is all we do," said Gore. "There's so many things we do differently than a more generalized medical facility would do."

The same holds true for the new sports medicine clinic.

David Arakawa, the facility's management co-ordinator, said the 6,000-square-foot clinic deals with children from 8 to 19 for a variety of ailments ranging from ankle sprains to knee injuries to back problems.

Their clientele ranges from varsity football players to middle school physical education students. Swimmers come in with shoulder and back problems. Football players need to rehabilitate from serious injuries. Runners come in with ACL tears.

"We have a good mix of sports here," said Arakawa.

The sports medicine clinic is part of a three-prong effort to heal ailing young people.

The process begins with treatment at the outpatient clinic or the surgery center.

It then moves to the sports medicine unit where a young athlete goes through exercises and other treatment to rehabilitate.

Arakawa said the trainers are specialists who know the differences between a young athlete's body and an older participant in sports.

"Our goal is to get them up and being active again," he said.

The third phase will be accomplished in the soon-to-be-opened motion analysis unit, a place that is complete with a series of cameras and other equipment.

This is where the center's employees hope to prevent an injury from recurring. They will study an athlete's running, swimming or swinging style to detect any irregularities that might be causing repetitive injuries.

Arakawa said the demand for the clinic is certainly evident.

There has been steady growth in the number of youth-related sports activities over the past two decades in the East Bay.

In addition, children are starting to specialize in one sport at younger ages. That focus can lead to repetitive injuries in young bodies.

Arakawa said the pressure is sometimes high on children in elementary and middle school students to be proficient at a sport before they get to high school.

"We've got to get the message to parents," said Arakawa. "We want children to be well-rounded athletes."

For those who do get hurt, the clinic will be standing by.