Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

In 2022, high school student Rakshith “Rocky” Srinivasan was working on research on how amino acids help with muscle mobility.

He was mentored by Dr. Burt Yaszay, the Chief of the division of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Seattle Children’s, who helped Rocky understand the science behind muscle mobility.

In these sessions, Dr. Yaszay discussed his own research in orthopedics and sports medicine at Seattle Children’s, which inspired Rakshith to raise funds for those programs.

Since then, Rakshith and his nonprofit, Unlimited Potential (UP) have raised more than $10,000 for Dr. Yaszay’s program and research.

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PART FOUR: From witnessing exceptional care and compassion given to children in their own lives, to receiving treatment first-hand, this weekly series features Seattle Children’s employees and the life experiences that drove them to pursue careers in healthcare.

Natalie Jean Ahrens (left) helped care for Becky Greenway when she was a pediatric patient at Seattle Children’s

In 1991, Becky Greenway was a 17-year-old student facing chronic knee pain throughout her senior year of high school.

“My pain was worse at night and the only way I could get any relief was by soaking it in the bathtub,” she recalled.

Greenway sought care from several primary care doctors who provided varying diagnoses, including tendonitis, growing pains and a possible mental disorder.

“This fourth doctor couldn’t find any reason for my pain, so he was convinced it was all in my head,” Greenway explained.

Feeling exasperated, Greenway’s mother pushed forward, certain that the root of her daughter’s pain was something more serious.

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PART THREE: From witnessing exceptional care and compassion given to children in their own lives, to receiving treatment first-hand, this weekly series features Seattle Children’s employees and the life experiences that drove them to pursue careers in healthcare.

Top: After receiving treatment at Seattle Children’s for chronic pain and arthritis, Johanna celebrated her 15th birthday. Bottom: Today, Johanna and her husband, Carlos.

Seattle Children’s has been part of Johanna Sánchez-Vargas’s life since she was 13 years old. Her family immigrated from Guerrero, Mexico to a small agricultural town in the Yakima Valley. There, the family planted roots and started working as farmworkers.

Throughout her childhood, Sánchez-Vargas experienced chronic pain and arthritis, and was treated in Seattle Children’s Rheumatology Program for spondyloarthropathies, a group of inflammatory diseases of the joints and areas where tendons attach to bones. It typically affects the lower part of a child’s body, including the hips, knees and ankles.

“Predominantly, I had persistent pain that hindered my ability to walk,” she said. “As a kid, I struggled with being visibly disabled. I remember going through the halls of my middle school with my wheelchair and feeling isolated for being different.”

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Seth Wayne is a Seattle Children’s athletic trainer at Evergreen High School.

Did you know March is National Athletic Training Month? In recognition of Seattle Children’s incredible athletic trainers, we’re highlighting the tremendous role they play in helping athletes thrive on and off the field.

Across the greater Puget Sound region, nearly 50 athletic trainers from Seattle Children’s are embedded in 42 schools from Tacoma to Woodinville. They are with athletes at least five days a week – on the sidelines at games when most injuries occur, as well as in the gym or training facilities during practice. They provide sport-specific training and conditioning programs, as well as injury care for high school athletes. Athletic trainers help care for athletes from a wide array of sports, including football, soccer, lacrosse, gymnastics, wrestling, basketball, baseball, softball, track and field, tennis, golf, swimming, volleyball, cross country and roller derby. From helping tape ankles to suggesting specific exercises to decrease the risk of injury to communicating with orthopedic providers when catastrophic injuries occur, athletic trainers help support young athletes.

“We are the eyes, hands and ears of the care team and a liaison between the providers and patient,” said Seth Wayne, a Seattle Children’s athletic trainer at Evergreen High School.

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Dr. Todd Blumberg is the program director of Seattle Children’s Child and Young Adult Hip Preservation Program.

Dr. Todd Blumberg, program director of Seattle Children’s Child and Young Adult Hip Preservation Program, has helped build a new program that is truly one-of-a-kind in the Pacific Northwest. The program offers comprehensive and complete care for children, teens and young adults with a wide range of hip conditions.

Blumberg was born and raised in Texas. He graduated from medical school at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his orthopedic surgery training at the University of Washington and then went on to complete pediatric orthopedic fellowship training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, with additional fellowship training in hip preservation surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.

We sat down with Blumberg to learn more about the program and his vision for helping children with hip issues live their most fulfilling life possible.

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Dr. Klane White is an international leader and advocate for children like Emma with rare skeletal health conditions. As the parent of a child who had a complex medical condition, he knows what it feels like to be on the receiving side of a difficult medical diagnosis and care –– and it’s helped shape him into the incredible provider, researcher and surgeon he is today.

Dr. Klane White leads the Skeletal Health and Dysplasia Program at Seattle Children’s. He is an international expert in the care of children with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) and skeletal dysplasia, lecturing around the globe on the orthopedic management of these conditions. In addition to being the only pediatric orthopedic surgeon in the world to serve as principal investigator on phase 3 clinical trials for rare skeletal conditions, he serves on the medical advisory board of Little People of America, the scientific advisory board of the National MPS Society and is an executive founding member of the Skeletal Dysplasia Management Consortium. This story is one example of the compassionate care he and other members of Seattle Children’s Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Program provide to children every day.

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Dr. Burt Yaszay is the new chief of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Seattle Children’s.

Seattle Children’s is excited to welcome Dr. Burt Yaszay as the new chief of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Seattle Children’s. Yaszay comes to Seattle Children’s with a bright vision for the future as well as a deep respect for the roots in which Seattle Children’s was founded.

We sat down with Yaszay to learn more about his extensive expertise and vision for the program.

Yaszay earned his medical degree at Stanford University School of Medicine and did his residency in general and orthopedic surgery at the University of Washington and a fellowship at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases. Yaszay most recently spent 14 years at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, which is nationally recognized as one of the best programs in the country.

He is excited to bring his expertise to Seattle Children’s and foster an environment of innovation and collaboration.

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Dr. Monique Burton, medical director of Sports Medicine at Seattle Children’s, will be sharing her vaccination experience with the athletes she cares for and the community at large.

Dr. Monique Burton is the medical director of Sports Medicine at Seattle Children’s, Chair of the USA Track and Field Sports Medicine Science Committee, and a physician for the U.S. Track and Field team who will travel with the team to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Burton received a COVID-19 vaccine and documented her experience to share with athletes and the community at large. Here, she shares her understanding of vaccine hesitancy among people of color, and how she wants to provide the community with information and tools so they can make informed decisions for themselves.

Last year, when I learned a COVID-19 vaccine would soon be available, I wanted to learn more. I was inquisitive and perhaps even a little hesitant. This vaccine was different from the longstanding vaccines my children and I had previously received. If I was prescribed a new medication I wouldn’t hesitate to ask questions, and I approached this new vaccine the same way.

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Hannah Nash suffered a concussion in 2018 and experienced PPCS. Today, she attends the University of Washington.

On Dec. 26, 2018, 18-year-old Hannah Nash, an avid basketball player, was hit in the head while at basketball practice. She initially felt a sharp pain and her head felt foggy. She recalled leaving practice abruptly. The next day, she played in a game, but she didn’t feel like herself.

“I played terribly,” Nash said. “I was just off.”

She went to her pediatrician, and they treated her symptoms like a concussion. She was told to rest. On Jan. 3, 2018, she fainted in her kitchen and hit her head again.

Every year, an estimated 1.1 to 1.9 million youth suffer a sports-related concussion. Common post-concussion symptoms include headache, fatigue, irritability, dizziness and poor academic performance. Depression and anxiety are also commonly reported and have been shown to be associated with prolonged recovery from concussion. For most individuals, symptoms resolve within days or weeks of a concussion, but for youth like Nash, that isn’t always the case. For adolescents who experience persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS), the burden on their families, academic achievement and other areas of life can be enormous. Read full post »

As our state and counties progress through the Safe Start phases, our local athletic teams and activity centers will look to return as well. We are all anxious to get back to our regular activities, but how can we ensure that we are doing this the safest way possible?

Our athletic training team is here to help. We have compiled recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Washington State Department of Health, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), National Federation of State High School Associations, and Korey Stringer Institute. Our goal is to provide you with some questions to ask and information to look for so that you can feel prepared and make the most informed choices around re-engaging your child safely into sports. Read full post »