Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sports injury of the pediatric musculoskeletal system

  • PAEDIATRIC RADIOLOGY
  • Published:
La radiologia medica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sports related injuries are common in children and adolescents, with a reported incidence of around one in ten children each year. Boys incur more and severer sports injuries than girls, and chance for injury is greater with contact or jumping sports. Sports injuries seen in children under 10-years of age are non-specific, including contusions, mild sprains, and extremity fractures, usually Salter fractures of the physes (growth plate) or plastic fractures. In the very young athlete, sports injury of the ligaments or muscle is rare as are spine or head injuries. With growth and adolescence, the intensity of sports involvement increases. Pre-pubertal children still have open physes that are prone to injury, both acute or due to stress from a repetitive activity. In addition to injury of the physes of the long bones, injuries to the physes of apophyses are common. Ligamentous injury is uncommon before physeal closure, but can occur. After the physes fuse, ligamentous injury is seen with patterns similar to adults. This review will include a description of sports related injuries seen in children and adolescents. We will concentrate on injuries that are specific for the growing skeleton, with a brief mention of those seen after fusion of the physes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Stracciolini A, Casciano R, Levey FH, Meehan WP III, Micheli LJ (2013) Pediatric sports injuries: an age comparison of children versus adolescents. Am J Sports Med 41:1922–1929

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Smucny M, Parikh SN, Pandya NK (2015) Consequences of single sport specialization in the pediatric and adolescent athlete. Orthop Clin North Am 46:249–258

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Nauta J, Martin-Diener E, Martin BW, van MW, Verhagen E (2015) Injury risk during different physical activity behaviours in children: a systematic review with bias assessment. Sports Med 45:327–336

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Shanmugam C, Maffulli N (2008) Sports injuries in children. Br Med Bull 86:33–57

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Freitag A, Kirkwood G, Scharer S, Ofori-Asenso R, Pollock AM (2015) Systematic review of rugby injuries in children and adolescents under 21 years. Br J Sports Med 49:511–519

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Brudvik C (2006) Child injuries in Bergen, Norway: identifying high-risk groups and activity specific injuries. Thesis. University of Bergen

  7. Laor T, Wall EJ, Vu LP (2006) Physeal widening in the knee due to stress injury in child athletes. AJR Am J Roentgenol 186:1260–1264

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Launay F (2015) Sports-related overuse injuries in children. Orthop Traumatol Surg Res 101:S139–S147

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kocher MS, Waters PM, Micheli LJ (2000) Upper extremity injuries in the paediatric athlete. Sports Med 30:117–135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Dashe J, Roocroft JH, Bastrom TP, Edmonds EW (2013) Spectrum of shoulder injuries in skeletally immature patients. Orthop Clin North Am 44:541–551

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Obembe OO, Gaskin CM, Taffoni MJ, Anderson MW (2007) Little Leaguer’s shoulder (proximal humeral epiphysiolysis): MRI findings in four boys. Pediatr Radiol 37:885–889

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Brogdon BG, Crow NE (1960) Little leaguer’s elbow. Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther Nucl Med 83:671–675

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Klingele KE, Kocher MS (2002) Little league elbow: valgus overload injury in the paediatric athlete. Sports Med 32:1005–1015

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Rettig AC, Wurth TR, Mieling P (2006) Nonunion of olecranon stress fractures in adolescent baseball pitchers: a case series of 5 athletes. Am J Sports Med 34:653–656

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Kox LS, Kuijer PP, Kerkhoffs GM, Maas M, Frings-Dresen MH (2015) Prevalence, incidence and risk factors for overuse injuries of the wrist in young athletes: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med 49:1189–1196

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Chang CY, Shih C, Penn IW, Tiu CM, Chang T, Wu JJ (1995) Wrist injuries in adolescent gymnasts of a Chinese opera school: radiographic survey. Radiology 195:861–864

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Shih C, Chang CY, Penn IW, Tiu CM, Chang T, Wu JJ (1995) Chronically stressed wrists in adolescent gymnasts: MR imaging appearance. Radiology 195:855–859

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Fernbach SK, Wilkinson RH (1981) Avulsion injuries of the pelvis and proximal femur. AJR Am J Roentgenol 137:581–584

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Loder RT, Richards BS, Shapiro PS, Reznick LR, Aronson DD (1993) Acute slipped capital femoral epiphysis: the importance of physeal stability. J Bone Joint Surg Am 75:1134–1140

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Siebenrock KA, Ferner F, Noble PC, Santore RF, Werlen S, Mamisch TC (2011) The cam-type deformity of the proximal femur arises in childhood in response to vigorous sporting activity. Clin Orthop Relat Res 469:3229–3240

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Wenger DR, Kishan S, Pring ME (2006) Impingement and childhood hip disease. J Pediatr Orthop B 15:233–243

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Lehmann TG, Engesaeter IO, Laborie LB, Lie SA, Rosendahl K, Engesaeter LB (2013) Radiological findings that may indicate a prior silent slipped capital femoral epiphysis in a cohort of 2072 young adults. Bone Joint J 95-B:452–458

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Close BJ, Strouse PJ (2000) MR of physeal fractures of the adolescent knee. Pediatr Radiol 30:756–762

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Kelly BT, Green DW (2002) Discoid lateral meniscus in children. Curr Opin Pediatr 14:54–61

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Dunoski B, Zbojniewicz AM, Laor T (2012) MRI of displaced meniscal fragments. Pediatr Radiol 42:104–112

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Dwek JR, Chung CB (2008) The patellar extensor apparatus of the knee. Pediatr Radiol 38:925–935

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Kijowski R, Blankenbaker DG, Shinki K, Fine JP, Graf BK, De Smet AA (2008) Juvenile versus adult osteochondritis dissecans of the knee: appropriate MR imaging criteria for instability. Radiology 248:571–578

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Gebarski K, Hernandez RJ (2005) Stage-I osteochondritis dissecans versus normal variants of ossification in the knee in children. Pediatr Radiol 35:880–886

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Laor T, Zbojniewicz AM, Eismann EA, Wall EJ (2012) Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans: is it a growth disturbance of the secondary physis of the epiphysis? AJR Am J Roentgenol 199:1121–1128

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Brown SD, Kasser JR, Zurakowski D, Jaramillo D (2004) Analysis of 51 tibial triplane fractures using CT with multiplanar reconstruction. AJR Am J Roentgenol 183:1489–1495

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Lim S, Lee HK, Bae S, Rim NJ, Cho J (2013) A radiological classification system for talocalcaneal coalition based on a multi-planar imaging study using CT and MRI. Insights Imaging 4:563–567

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Newman JS, Newberg AH (2000) Congenital tarsal coalition: multimodality evaluation with emphasis on CT and MR imaging. Radiographics 20:321–332

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Miller TT (2002) Painful accessory bones of the foot. Semin Musculoskelet Radiol 6:153–161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Lawrence SJ, Botte MJ (1993) Jones’ fractures and related fractures of the proximal fifth metatarsal. Foot Ankle 14:358–365

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Jaimes C, Jimenez M, Shabshin N, Laor T, Jaramillo D (2012) Taking the stress out of evaluating stress injuries in children. Radiographics 32:537–555

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Kransdorf MJ, Meis JM, Jelinek JS (1991) Myositis ossificans: MR appearance with radiologic-pathologic correlation. AJR Am J Roentgenol 157:1243–1248

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Amendola MA, Glazer GM, Agha FP, Francis IR, Weatherbee L, Martel W (1983) Myositis ossificans circumscripta: computed tomographic diagnosis. Radiology 149:775–779

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Maxfield BA (2010) Sports-related injury of the pediatric spine. Radiol Clin North Am 48:1237–1248

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Brown RL, Brunn MA, Garcia VF (2001) Cervical spine injuries in children: a review of 103 patients treated consecutively at a level 1 pediatric trauma center. J Pediatr Surg 36:1107–1114

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Kokoska ER, Keller MS, Rallo MC, Weber TR (2001) Characteristics of pediatric cervical spine injuries. J Pediatr Surg 36:100–105

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Pediatric Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital, Jonas Lies vei 65, 5020, Bergen, Norway

    Karen Rosendahl

  2. Department of Clinical Medicine, K1, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Karen Rosendahl

  3. C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, 1540 E. Medical Center Drive, 3-220, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Peter J. Strouse

Authors
  1. Karen Rosendahl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peter J. Strouse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen Rosendahl.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is based on Peter J. Strouse, Karen Rosendahl (2013) Specific Aspects of Sports Related Injuries of the Pediatric Musculoskeletal System. In: Hodler J, von Schulthess GK, Zollikofer ChL (eds) Musculoskeletal Diseases 2013–2016, Springer-Verlag Italia, Milan pp 194–202. © Springer-Verlag Italia 2013. With kind permission of Springer-Verlag Italia. All Rights Reserved.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rosendahl, K., Strouse, P.J. Sports injury of the pediatric musculoskeletal system. Radiol med 121, 431–441 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-015-0615-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-015-0615-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation