My son recently started running cross country. He describes a dull aching pain on the lower front part of his shin bone. His running coach says he has shin splints. What are shin splints?

What should I do about my daughter who refuses all dairy products. I am worried she is not getting enough calcium.

I have been told that the bump on my child's writs is a ganglion cyst. Is it serious?

My 13 year old son is very active in sports and has grown 5in. in the last three months. He has also been diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter disease, what is this condition and how can we treat this?

I have a 12 yrs. old son who complains of occasional tingling feeling in his arms. He describes it as the feeling you get when you have your blood pressure taken and feel the pulsing. Usually it is in the left arm, and is not in the joints area. It m

The breast bone of my son has caved inward since he was a baby. As a teenager, he is now embarrassed by the deformity and will not take off his shirt. What can be done about this condition?

At my twelve-year-old daughter’s sports physical our pediatrician noted a curve in her spine. He suggested that we see a specialist, but we could not get an appointment for two months. I am worried that she will need an ugly brace or worse, surgery. Can

My doctor says calcium is important for teenagers. How can I tell if I’m getting enough calcium?

I am the mother of a happy 5 ½ year old boy who for the first time last night experienced what I’m hearing are “growing pains”. He is 53” tall and weighs 52 pounds, so as you can see he is quite tall. I’ve been told that this strange phenomena occurs mo

I am 14 years old and want to lift weights to become stronger. Is it okay to do that at my age?

How long after a child is exposed to mono do symptoms develop? My daughter was around her older sister ten days ago who has mono and now my little one has a sore throat. Could it be mono?

My son is 15 years old and is a toe walker. His doctor asked us to take him for a neurological evaluation which we did. The neurologist said he had some weakness in his hands and feet and would like to do further testing. Do you know what they are looki

My doctor wants to do a bone age test on my daughter. Can you explain what this test will show?

Our 9-year-old son has been playing soccer in the Fall/Spring months and basketball in the Winter/Summer months. He has been doing this since he was five years old. Are we putting him at risk for any type of joint degeneration? His father is currently be

My 5 year old daughter was recently diagnosed as possibly suffering from osteochondritis. Can you explain what this is and what treatments are necessary?

Can my emotions and stress levels affect my fifth grader’s growth and development? What can I do to help him (he is a sensitive kid)?

My daughter is almost eight years old and is 42 inches tall and weighs 40 pounds. Since birth she has always been below the chart in the minus percentile range. She has made her own curve and it had been slowly going up but now seems to be leveling off

My 10 year old 5'1" 145lb son is playing tackle football in full gear. He enjoys it very much. He will not be allowed to play next year based on his weight. I believe that at this weight he should be able to play. The league currently has 11-13yr olds pla

My son (aged 8) has complained consistently for the last three weeks of pain in the middle of his chest. His sternum area appears quite sensitive to touch. Today the pain was worse after gym class. What could it be?

I have an active 5year old son. This spring he had Scarlet Fever and he now complains of different joint pains. Some days his wrists hurt, other days it is his elbow, knees, or ankles. He seems to always say his neck and spine hurt. It appears to alway

I have a eight year old boy, whom just had a C T Scan done and it showed his top vertebrae still separated. (He injured himself by flipping in the air and landing on his neck and head.) The doctor said that the CT Scan shows he is two years behind in his

I have a two year old who has been walking for a year now. I have had him checked out, and the only thing that was said, was that he may have a slight problem with his femur. He cannot run without tripping over his left foot. His feet appear straigh

Can you tell me approx. when he will start his growth spurt and how tall will he be. I am 6ft., my husband is 6 ft., 3. My son is 15. Height age is 15.4, current height 170,5 cm., pubic hair Tanner 3-4, bone age 13.3, weight 56.4 kg. Thank you!

My knee makes an odd cracking noise whenever I walk up the stairs. It doesn’t hurt now, but it did for about two days. I think it is from dancing a lot. What is wrong with my knee and how can I prevent this in the future?

I sprained my ankle in December of 1999. It was bad and the bruise went half way up my calf. I didn’t play basketball for about a month and took it easy on the ankle. I even used crutches and a brace for a while. Recently, I fell on it again, I didn’t spra

Would like to know more information about weightlifting in teens....my son is 13 and wants to start a weight training program...we are at odds with the "squats"....I say squats puts compression on the spine, can cause growth plate damage..hence stunting gr

Our 14 year old daughter with cerebral palsy recently underwent scoliosis surgery. She has had a lot of pain in her right tummy and has not been able to eat for weeks now. Is this normal? I am very worried that this is a serious situation.

My son just turned 5 and has been delayed since birth. We have done all to rule everything out including Genetics Testing. They could not find anything that "stood out" but found just a few minor imperfections that they could only suggest was possible NOON

Please tell me the weight that a 5 years old child can put on his back (with schools books and other materials) Thaks a lot and best regards

How Healthy are sports drinks (gatorade) for children? My brother's kids drink only gatorade and only an occasional glass of chocolate milk. Their ages are 4,6,&8. They aren't particularly active and play inside most of the time. I bring our own drinks whe

My son just got through with "Spring football" practice and was told by the coach that he had a "hip pointer." What is that injury and is it serious?

My 16 year old son had been told by the high school nurse that he has moderate sway back. Is this something to be concerned about and could it cause the muscle pain he feels on the right side of his mid-back when he plays hockey or is using that muscle whe

Is too much soda bad for teenagers?

My 12 year old daughter has had some minor back pain. We also noticed that her shoulders were not even. Further exam show that her hips are not even and her legs. After a comparison xray of her hip joints knee joints and ankle joints, it looked as if her t

CHOCOLATE MILK and CALCIUM I realize the importance of giving my child enough calcium, but was told that putting chocolate in their mild would delete the calcuim from the milk. Is this true?

My 11-year old son has a SED rate of 65, which is high. He is really not sick, but has knee pain. He had the following blood tests done: ANA, B-12, RA factor and they all came back normal. What willl cause the sedimentation rate to be so high? What is wron

My 5 1/2 year old son has been complaining about lower leg hurting. It has been hurting him for the last 4 to 5 months. At first I thought that it was growing pains until his bottom of his feet started hurted? He will be a sleep and wake up crying because

I need a medical note stating that my daugther cannot carry more than 10% of her body weight in her book bag (back pack). She is 11 years old and weighs 62 pounds. Her pediatrician is saying that 20 pounds is OK although all other resources say 10%. Please

My 10 year-old son walks almost exclusively on his tip toes, often to the point where he is literally 'bobbing' along. I have always thought that this was just a natural characteristic but a friend has suggested to me that it could be an indication of test