When Elizabeth “Lizzie” Debowsky was only 7 years old, she began experiencing a sudden pain in her hip. Her parents Shari and Stuart immediately worried when the pain became so severe it was affecting her ability to walk.

"Although Lizzie takes dance classes, she has never been injured. All of a sudden, she began limping out of nowhere, and was complaining of pain in her hip.  I did not want to let it go very long so we decided to get evaluated by her doctor," said Shari.

Her pediatrician referred Lizzie to the Nicklaus Children's to rule out any undetected injuries.

Dr. Kevin Horowitz, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Nicklaus Children's, evaluated Lizzie and performed diagnostic tests. Dr. Horowitz determined that the pain was caused by stress on the growth area at the top of her pelvis. “While this is not uncommon in adolescents, it is rather uncommon for a young girl of her age. Thankfully, strengthening exercises help to reduce the pain,” he said.

Dr. Horowitz recommended six weeks of physical therapy at the Nicklaus Children's Sports Health Center so that Lizzie could improve her core strength and better support the muscles around the bone.

The Sports Health Center in Pinecrest is a specialized diagnostics and rehabilitation center focused on the young athlete overall. Services include sports performance and optimization, injury prevention and injury management for young athletes.

"My daughter found therapy to be a lot of fun. It was reassuring as a parent to know that something that was prescribed to her for her pain was done in a fun way for her to understand and enjoy,” said Shari.

Within two weeks of starting physical therapy, Lizzie's pain had decreased significantly and the pain was completely gone after completing the therapy. A follow up appointment with Dr. Horowitz showed her muscle had strengthened.

"I am relieved to know she is pain free and am grateful to the teams at Nicklaus Children's Hospital and the Sports Health Center," said Shari.