Shauna Davis dances every day, all styles. The teenager has been dancing since she was 3 -- and suffering the aches and pains that go along with it.

High school freshman Jeremy Moss has also been involved in sports since age 3 -- in basketball and soccer, adding football when he was 6. This spring, the 14-year-old started therapy after having surgery on his left knee.

The teens were among the first young athletes to undergo rehabilitative care at a new 5,665-square foot pediatric rehabilitation center in Southwest Broward, called [U18] Sports Medicine.

Affiliated with Memorial Healthcare System's Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital -- and located at Memorial Hospital Miramar -- the center opened at the beginning of September. The ``U18'' in its name is youth sports league speak for ``under 18,'' the age group served by the rehab services.

The center comes at a time when participation in youth sports is reaching new heights -- and so are the injuries. Some 30 million youths participate in organized sports, with at least 3.5 million injuries a year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The number of injuries related to physical education for U.S. kids increased 150 percent between 1997 and 2007, shows a study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy, part of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio.

In South Florida, where the weather makes it possible to participate in sports without a break, the center is especially needed, some say.

``This is huge in South Florida because it's year-round playing,'' said Tony Milian, manager of sports medicine at Memorial Hospital Miramar.

Said Dr. Stephen Storer, one of the physicians at the center: ``I can see what's in season by the injuries.''

Stress fractures, hand fractures, joint injuries? Must be football season. Shoulder and elbow injuries? Baseball time.

``We really see athletic injuries all year,'' Storer said.

Families with injured kids can simply call the center to schedule an appointment -- no special referrals needed. They'll find a $1.2 million facility built with young athletes in mind. The walls are decorated with pictures of famous athletes and subjects from ballet to surfing to basketball.

Each exam room has a television, and the TVs in the waiting room were tuned to ESPN on opening day.

Kids can get X-rays -- and casts -- on site, and the center has the backup of the hospital's MRIs and operating rooms.

Available for even the tiniest athletes, the center offers everything from weight and cardio equipment to Wii video games, which get kids moving in a way that might not seem so much like rehab to them.

``It's kind of like a creative, modern way of doing physical therapy,'' Milian said.

When Shauna, who is getting therapy for her ankle and hip, walked into the center the first time, she said she was ``so shocked.

``I love it,'' said the 15-year-old. ``When you walk in, there's a glass wall and it has all of this new equipment.''

Her mother said Shauna had previously been in therapy for two earlier injuries. She's noticed the difference already at the new center.

``She's very, very excited about it,'' Tanya Davis said. ``It's not the same humdrum thing.''

Dr. Michael Jofe, another physician who works out of the center, said kids will get therapy in a place specifically geared to them.

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