Growth plate fractures

[Ernesto]

Growth plate fractures occur in areas at the ends of bones. These areas (called growth plates) are what enable children to grow. Growth plate fractures occur only in children and adolescents.

A growth plate may be fractured when repeated stress is put on a bone or when children are injured.
If a growth plate is fractured, the area over it is painful and swollen, and children have trouble moving the affected limb.
The bone may stop growing or grow crookedly.
Doctors suspect this fracture based on symptoms and can usually diagnose it based on x-rays.
Some growth plate fractures are treated with a cast or splint, but if the fracture is more severe, the broken pieces of bone are put back in place (reduced) with or without surgery, and then a cast is applied.

(See also Overview of Fractures.)
Growth plates are areas of cartilage in long bones (such as the arm and leg bones). They enable bones to lengthen until children reach their full height. When growth is completed, growth plates are replaced with bone. When growth stops varies by bone, but all growth plates are replaced with bone by age 20.
Because cartilage is more fragile than bone, growth plates are particularly vulnerable to fracture. When a growth plate is fractured, the bone may stop growing or grow crookedly. If a joint is involved, it may be permanently damaged, resulting in arthritis.
A fracture may occur straight across a growth plate, separating the bone from the cartilage. Or a fracture may extend above or below the growth plate, sometimes all the way through the end of the bone and into the joint. The most serious type of fracture is a compression fracture (when the growth plate is crushed).