Physiotherapy & Exercise Physiology for Teenagers
Specialist physiotherapy for adolescents
The teenage years are a physically distinct and clinically important period — not simply a scaled-down version of adult physiotherapy. Adolescents are managing rapid skeletal growth, significant hormonal change, increasing sporting demands, postural challenges from school and screen time, and in many cases the psychological pressures of performance and peer comparison. Injuries and pain in this population require specific clinical knowledge and a treatment approach that accounts for the developing body rather than applying adult principles directly.
We understand that teenagers are at a critical stage of their physical development, and injuries or pain can significantly impact their lives. Parents and guardians are always welcome to attend all appointments. At Articulate Physiotherapy in Tarragindi, we work with teenagers and pre-teens from 10 to 19 years across a wide range of presentations — from growth-related conditions and sports injuries through to postural conditions, dance-related injuries and post-surgical rehabilitation.
Growth-related conditions
The most distinctive feature of adolescent physiotherapy is the growth plate — areas of cartilaginous tissue at the ends of developing bones that are significantly more vulnerable to injury and stress than mature bone. During the adolescent growth spurt, rapidly lengthening bones create increased tensile stress at tendon and ligament attachment points, producing a characteristic group of conditions that are almost exclusively seen in this age group.
Osgood-Schlatter disease — pain and swelling at the tibial tuberosity below the kneecap — is one of the most common presentations in active teenagers aged 10 to 15, particularly in running and jumping sports. Sever's disease — heel pain from traction stress at the calcaneal growth plate — is the most common cause of heel pain in children aged 8 to 14. Sinding-Larsen-Johansson syndrome affects the inferior pole of the patella in a similar age group.
Scheuermann's disease — structural thoracic kyphosis from abnormal vertebral end plate development — produces the rounded upper back posture and thoracic pain seen in some adolescents during their growth spurt. Scoliosis — lateral spinal curvature — most commonly develops or progresses during adolescent growth and requires monitoring, specific exercise programs and in significant cases medical co-management.
Lumbar spondylolysis — stress fractures of the pars interarticularis — are the most common cause of back pain in young athletes, particularly fast bowlers, gymnasts and dancers who perform repeated lumbar hyperextension. These require imaging for definitive diagnosis and structured load management for recovery.
For a comprehensive overview of growth-related conditions, see our growth-related conditions page.
Sports injuries in teenagers
Sporting injuries are common among teenagers who participate in various sports and physical activities. Our team of experienced physiotherapists has the expertise to diagnose and treat all types of sporting injuries. From minor strains and sprains to more severe injuries, we will work with your teenager to develop an individualised treatment plan that gets them back to their sport as quickly and safely as possible.
The most common and most significant sports injuries in adolescents include ACL tears — which carry particular significance in teenagers because of the long rehabilitation timeline and the impact on school sport and social participation. Female adolescent athletes in jumping and pivoting sports — netball, basketball, soccer — are at particularly high ACL injury risk, and ACL injury prevention programs with landing mechanics retraining are the most evidence-based intervention for reducing this risk.
Ankle sprains, hamstring strains, patellofemoral pain and shoulder injuries from throwing and overhead sports are all common adolescent presentations that benefit significantly from early physiotherapy rather than rest and return.
Stress fractures — particularly in young female athletes where relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) reduces bone density — require careful assessment and graduated return-to-activity programming. The female athlete triad — reduced energy availability, menstrual dysfunction and low bone density — is an important consideration in high-training-volume adolescent female athletes that physiotherapy assessment can identify and refer appropriately.
Posture and screen-related conditions
The combination of prolonged sitting, heavy school bags, device use and reduced physical activity has produced a significant increase in adolescent postural conditions — forward head posture, thoracic kyphosis and hyperlordosis that produce neck pain, upper back pain and headaches in teenagers who may have minimal sporting injury history. Physiotherapy addressing postural strengthening, thoracic mobility, deep cervical flexor retraining and ergonomic advice for study and device use is highly effective for this population.
Cervicogenic headaches in teenagers — frequently attributed to tension or stress — often have a postural and cervical joint component that responds well to physiotherapy and is worth assessing before long-term medication management is initiated.
Dance and performance physiotherapy for teenagers
Adolescent dancers — particularly those in intensive ballet and contemporary training — are a specific and high-risk population for both growth-related and overuse injuries. The combination of growth plate vulnerability, high training volumes, hypermobility (common in the dance-selected population) and the cultural pressure to train through pain produces a distinctive injury pattern that requires physiotherapy with specific dance knowledge.
Our pre-pointe assessment with Emma Cameron is specifically designed for young ballet dancers preparing to begin pointe work. Our dance physiotherapy service addresses the full range of dance-related injuries across all styles and age groups.
Hypermobility in teenagers
Joint hypermobility — generalised joint laxity — frequently becomes symptomatic during adolescence as increasing body weight, sporting demands and the biomechanical changes of puberty exceed the capacity of hypermobile joints and connective tissue. Recurrent sprains, joint pain, fatigue and difficulty with sustained physical activity in a teenager with obvious joint flexibility should prompt assessment for hypermobility spectrum disorder. Our team's specialist experience in hypermobility — particularly Yulia's EDS Society certifications — is directly relevant to the adolescent hypermobility population.
Post-surgical rehabilitation in teenagers
In some cases, teenagers may require surgery to address a physical issue or injury. ACL reconstruction, meniscal repair, scoliosis surgery and fracture fixation all require structured post-surgical rehabilitation that is adapted for the adolescent — accounting for growth plate considerations, school and sport participation goals, and the psychological impact of significant injury and surgery in this age group. Our post-surgical rehabilitation page provides detail on the specific procedures we manage.
A note for parents
Bringing your teenager to physiotherapy is the right decision — early assessment and management consistently produces better outcomes than waiting to see if things settle. Many teenagers minimise or hide pain, particularly in sport, and a brief window of inadequately managed acute injury can become a chronic problem. We see teenagers in a comfortable, professional environment where they are treated as individuals with their own goals and preferences. Parents are always welcome to attend.
Our physiotherapists Eliane Machado, Bethany Kippen and Emma Cameron all have experience in adolescent physiotherapy and are members of the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Emma's specific training in supporting adolescent dancers for pre-pointe readiness and pre-professional training makes her particularly well placed for the dance population. Eliane's doctoral research in lower limb biomechanics is directly relevant to the growth-related and sports injury presentations most common in this age group.
To book or find out more, call us on 07 3706 3407 or book online below. We see patients from across Brisbane's southside including Tarragindi, Coorparoo, Holland Park, Greenslopes and Mt Gravatt.
The teenage years are a physically distinct and clinically important period — not simply a scaled-down version of adult physiotherapy. Adolescents are managing rapid skeletal growth, significant hormonal change, increasing sporting demands, postural challenges from school and screen time, and in many cases the psychological pressures of performance and peer comparison. Injuries and pain in this population require specific clinical knowledge and a treatment approach that accounts for the developing body rather than applying adult principles directly.
We understand that teenagers are at a critical stage of their physical development, and injuries or pain can significantly impact their lives. Parents and guardians are always welcome to attend all appointments. At Articulate Physiotherapy in Tarragindi, we work with teenagers and pre-teens from 10 to 19 years across a wide range of presentations — from growth-related conditions and sports injuries through to postural conditions, dance-related injuries and post-surgical rehabilitation.
Growth-related conditions
The most distinctive feature of adolescent physiotherapy is the growth plate — areas of cartilaginous tissue at the ends of developing bones that are significantly more vulnerable to injury and stress than mature bone. During the adolescent growth spurt, rapidly lengthening bones create increased tensile stress at tendon and ligament attachment points, producing a characteristic group of conditions that are almost exclusively seen in this age group.
Osgood-Schlatter disease — pain and swelling at the tibial tuberosity below the kneecap — is one of the most common presentations in active teenagers aged 10 to 15, particularly in running and jumping sports. Sever's disease — heel pain from traction stress at the calcaneal growth plate — is the most common cause of heel pain in children aged 8 to 14. Sinding-Larsen-Johansson syndrome affects the inferior pole of the patella in a similar age group.
Scheuermann's disease — structural thoracic kyphosis from abnormal vertebral end plate development — produces the rounded upper back posture and thoracic pain seen in some adolescents during their growth spurt. Scoliosis — lateral spinal curvature — most commonly develops or progresses during adolescent growth and requires monitoring, specific exercise programs and in significant cases medical co-management.
Lumbar spondylolysis — stress fractures of the pars interarticularis — are the most common cause of back pain in young athletes, particularly fast bowlers, gymnasts and dancers who perform repeated lumbar hyperextension. These require imaging for definitive diagnosis and structured load management for recovery.
For a comprehensive overview of growth-related conditions, see our growth-related conditions page.
Sports injuries in teenagers
Sporting injuries are common among teenagers who participate in various sports and physical activities. Our team of experienced physiotherapists has the expertise to diagnose and treat all types of sporting injuries. From minor strains and sprains to more severe injuries, we will work with your teenager to develop an individualised treatment plan that gets them back to their sport as quickly and safely as possible.
The most common and most significant sports injuries in adolescents include ACL tears — which carry particular significance in teenagers because of the long rehabilitation timeline and the impact on school sport and social participation. Female adolescent athletes in jumping and pivoting sports — netball, basketball, soccer — are at particularly high ACL injury risk, and ACL injury prevention programs with landing mechanics retraining are the most evidence-based intervention for reducing this risk.
Ankle sprains, hamstring strains, patellofemoral pain and shoulder injuries from throwing and overhead sports are all common adolescent presentations that benefit significantly from early physiotherapy rather than rest and return.
Stress fractures — particularly in young female athletes where relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) reduces bone density — require careful assessment and graduated return-to-activity programming. The female athlete triad — reduced energy availability, menstrual dysfunction and low bone density — is an important consideration in high-training-volume adolescent female athletes that physiotherapy assessment can identify and refer appropriately.
Posture and screen-related conditions
The combination of prolonged sitting, heavy school bags, device use and reduced physical activity has produced a significant increase in adolescent postural conditions — forward head posture, thoracic kyphosis and hyperlordosis that produce neck pain, upper back pain and headaches in teenagers who may have minimal sporting injury history. Physiotherapy addressing postural strengthening, thoracic mobility, deep cervical flexor retraining and ergonomic advice for study and device use is highly effective for this population.
Cervicogenic headaches in teenagers — frequently attributed to tension or stress — often have a postural and cervical joint component that responds well to physiotherapy and is worth assessing before long-term medication management is initiated.
Dance and performance physiotherapy for teenagers
Adolescent dancers — particularly those in intensive ballet and contemporary training — are a specific and high-risk population for both growth-related and overuse injuries. The combination of growth plate vulnerability, high training volumes, hypermobility (common in the dance-selected population) and the cultural pressure to train through pain produces a distinctive injury pattern that requires physiotherapy with specific dance knowledge.
Our pre-pointe assessment with Emma Cameron is specifically designed for young ballet dancers preparing to begin pointe work. Our dance physiotherapy service addresses the full range of dance-related injuries across all styles and age groups.
Hypermobility in teenagers
Joint hypermobility — generalised joint laxity — frequently becomes symptomatic during adolescence as increasing body weight, sporting demands and the biomechanical changes of puberty exceed the capacity of hypermobile joints and connective tissue. Recurrent sprains, joint pain, fatigue and difficulty with sustained physical activity in a teenager with obvious joint flexibility should prompt assessment for hypermobility spectrum disorder. Our team's specialist experience in hypermobility — particularly Yulia's EDS Society certifications — is directly relevant to the adolescent hypermobility population.
Post-surgical rehabilitation in teenagers
In some cases, teenagers may require surgery to address a physical issue or injury. ACL reconstruction, meniscal repair, scoliosis surgery and fracture fixation all require structured post-surgical rehabilitation that is adapted for the adolescent — accounting for growth plate considerations, school and sport participation goals, and the psychological impact of significant injury and surgery in this age group. Our post-surgical rehabilitation page provides detail on the specific procedures we manage.
A note for parents
Bringing your teenager to physiotherapy is the right decision — early assessment and management consistently produces better outcomes than waiting to see if things settle. Many teenagers minimise or hide pain, particularly in sport, and a brief window of inadequately managed acute injury can become a chronic problem. We see teenagers in a comfortable, professional environment where they are treated as individuals with their own goals and preferences. Parents are always welcome to attend.
Our physiotherapists Eliane Machado, Bethany Kippen and Emma Cameron all have experience in adolescent physiotherapy and are members of the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Emma's specific training in supporting adolescent dancers for pre-pointe readiness and pre-professional training makes her particularly well placed for the dance population. Eliane's doctoral research in lower limb biomechanics is directly relevant to the growth-related and sports injury presentations most common in this age group.
To book or find out more, call us on 07 3706 3407 or book online below. We see patients from across Brisbane's southside including Tarragindi, Coorparoo, Holland Park, Greenslopes and Mt Gravatt.
If you are unsure about which appointment type is right for you, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our friendly reception staff by calling 07 3706 3407 or emailing [email protected].