When your child becomes involved in youth sports, they also receive an education in body awareness, strengthening, team play, and strategizing. Participating in youth sports gives kids benefits, such as:
Kids who participate in sports also tend to have higher grades and are more likely to attend and graduate from a four-year college. Early participation in sports can even lead to more career success and satisfaction. Finally, young athletes tend to stay active throughout their lives, leading to better health outcomes.
However, there’s also the risk of injury. The risks of serious injuries are decreased by using required sports equipment, such as helmets.
That said, all athletes are prone to injuries. However, there’s one type of injury that only affects children and teens: growth plate injuries — particularly in the shoulder and elbow.
David Lintner, MD, a sports medicine specialist, wants to help prevent shoulder and elbow growth plate injuries in young athletes. He also encourages parents to become aware of potential baseball throwing injuries and other sports injuries so they can seek treatment at our Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine clinic in Houston, Texas.
How are growth plates affected by youth sports, and what can you do about it? A brief summary is below.
Growth plates are rubbery areas of cartilage at the end of growing bones. They are layers of cartilage that add height to the bones. As your child grows, the cartilage cells in the growth plates divide and are replaced by bone.
The growth plates are essential to normal bone growth. These soft, rubbery cartilage layers eventually become your child’s adult bones. Usually, the growth plates have completed their transformation to bone between 14-20, which is why adults don’t have them.
Whether your child plays baseball, tennis, gymnastics, or another sport, they may be at risk for a growth-plate injury. Growth plates are weaker than fully mature bones.
As your child’s bones grow, the ligaments and tendons that anchor and support them don’t always keep pace. Therefore, tendons and ligaments tend to be tighter in kids and teens than in adults. This means if the child quickly and strongly contracts a muscle, it could tear the growth plate away from the bone.
Growth-plate injuries, particularly avulsion fractures, can potentially disrupt the normal formation and growth of bones in young athletes. In fact, about 3% of acute growth-plate fractures can cause the growth plate to close prematurely, which may shorten your child’s bone.
A growth plate doesn’t have to be fractured to cause problems to your child’s bone health. A less severe injury to the growth plate can cause chronic inflammation or microfractures that also interfere with normal bone growth. Signs that your young athlete may have a growth-plate fracture or injury include:
Your child may not remember sustaining an injury. However, the symptoms are enough for you to seek medical care as soon as possible.
Injuries, overuse, and repetitive motions are often the source of the problem. Be sure that your child’s coach follows play-and-rest recommendations for their age group.
Practice and training should emphasize a variety of movements and skills. You should also encourage your child to participate in varied sports that utilize different muscle groups.
If your child is experiencing a rapid growth spurt, their coach should reduce repetitive training loads. They should also hold off on skill progression until bone growth has slowed.
If you suspect a growth-plate injury, the best approach is to see our sports medicine specialists for an evaluation. We conduct an in-depth physical examination and also order imaging studies, such as X-rays and ultrasounds, to further evaluate the tissue and bone.
An avulsion fracture in a growth plate is treated much like other fractures. We realign the fractured bone and may place it in a cast to immobilize it. Growth-plate fractures take 6-8 weeks to heal. Complex growth-plate fractures may require surgery.
Do you suspect that your child has a growth-plate injury? If so, contact our helpful staff by phone or online form for an evaluation today. If you live outside the Houston area, you can send Dr. Lintner an MRI for a second opinion or treatment recommendation.
