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In this Article

• What Is the Growth Plate?
• Who Gets Growth Plate Injuries?
• What Causes Growth Plate Injuries?
• How Are Growth Plate Fractures Diagnosed?
• What Kind of Doctor Treats Growth Plate Injuries?
• How Are Growth Plate Injuries Treated?
• What Is the Prognosis for Growth in the Involved Limb of a Child With a Growth Plate Injury?
• What Are Researchers Trying To Learn About Growth Plate Injuries?
• Where Can People Find More Information About Growth Plate Injuries?
• Find a local Orthopedic Surgeon in your town
• Growth Plate Fractures and Injuries Index

Researchers continue to develop methods to optimize the diagnosis and treatment of growth plate injuries and to improve patient outcomes. Examples of such work include:

• Removal of a growth-blocking "bridge" or bar of bone that can form across a growth plate following a fracture. After the bridge is removed, fat, cartilage, or other materials are inserted in its place to prevent the bridge from forming again.
  
  
• The investigation of drugs that protect the growth plate during radiation treatment.
  
  
• Development of methods to regenerate musculoskeletal tissue by using principles of tissue engineering.

To improve the early diagnosis of growth plate injuries, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculosketetal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is supporting a study to evaluate the use of MRI to visualize young bones and enable prompt, appropriate treatment. In May 1997, the NIAMS, together with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, supported a conference on skeletal growth and development. The resulting publication, Skeletal Growth and Development: Clinical Issues and Basic Science Advances, can be obtained from the AAOS at the address listed near the end of this booklet. In March 2000, the NIAMS supported the First International Conference on Growth Plate.

The NIAMS is working with the NICHD, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to support a research initiative in the area of skeletal growth and development. The purpose of the initiative is to:

• Stimulate research to identify and understand the action of the genes that regulate skeletal development
  
  
• Evaluate factors that affect growth plate function
  
  
• Develop animal models to study disturbances in skeletal growth and development
  
  
• Find new ways to correct musculoskeletal deformities.