Growth Plate Injuries
What Is the Growth Plate?
The growth plate, also known as the epiphyseal plate or physis, is the area
of growing tissue near the end of the long bones in
children and
adolescents.
Each long bone has at least two growth plates: one at each end. The growth plate
determines the future length and shape of the mature bone. When growth is
complete--sometime during adolescence--the growth plates close and are replaced
by solid bone.
Who Gets Growth Plate Injuries?
These injuries occur in children and adolescents. The growth plate is the
weakest area of the growing skeleton, weaker than the nearby ligaments and
tendons that connect bones to other bones and muscles. In a growing child, a
serious injury to a joint is more likely to damage a growth plate than the
ligaments that stabilize the joint. An injury that would cause a
sprain in an
adult can be associated with a growth plate injury in a child.
Injuries to the growth plate are
fractures. They comprise 15 percent of all
childhood fractures. They occur twice as often in boys as in girls, with the
greatest incidence among 14- to 16-year-old boys and 11- to 13-year-old girls.
Older girls experience these fractures less often because their bodies mature at
an earlier age than boys. As a result, their bones finish growing sooner, and
their growth plates are replaced by stronger, solid bone.
Approximately half of all growth plate injuries occur in the lower end of the
outer bone of the forearm (radius) at the wrist. These injuries also occur
frequently in the lower bones of the leg (tibia and fibula). They can also occur
in the upper leg bone (femur) or in the ankle, foot, or hip bone.
Next: What Causes Growth Plate Injuries? »
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