- Pain and tenderness, particularly in response to pressure on the growth plate.
- Inability to move the affected area or to put weight or pressure on the limb.
- Warmth and swelling at the end of a bone, near a joint.
Can you walk on a fractured growth plate?
A walking boot may be an option in this situation. But, depending on how significant the break is, a child could need a short leg cast (from toes to just below the knee) and may not be able to put weight on the leg for several weeks.
How bad is a fractured growth plate?
If the growth plate is damaged by a fracture or another injury, the bone may stop growing . This serious problem is called a growth arrest. Growth arrest can permanently stop a bone’s development and change how it functions.
Can you break a growth plate?
A growth plate may fracture (break) due to a fall or another cause. A physical exam and X-rays are most often used to diagnose a growth plate fracture. Fractures of the growth plate can interrupt normal growth if not treated properly.
What happens if you mess up your growth plates?
Growth plates disappear when the skeleton reaches maturity and the bones stop growing . However, bones can stop growing earlier — stunting physical development and causing functional problems — if the growth plates become severely damaged, Dr. Ballock says.
Do you need a cast for a fractured growth plate?
Growth plate fractures are generally treated with splints or casts . Sometimes, the bone may need to be put back in place to allow it to heal in the correct position.
How long does a fractured growth plate take to heal?
How long does it take to recover from a growth plate injury? With proper care, the vast majority of growth plate injuries heal without complication. This will typically involve a few weeks or months in a cast, depending on the location and severity of the injury.
Can you fix a broken growth plate?
What Are Growth Plate Fractures Treated? Often, a growth plate fracture may be mild and need only rest and a cast or splint. But if bones are out of place (or displaced), they have to be put back into the right position with a procedure called a reduction . A reduction is also called “setting the bone.”
At what age growth plates fuse?
Children have growth plates in each long bone. A growth plate is an area of soft bone at each end of the long bones. Growth plates allow the bone to grow as the child grows. The growth plates fuse by the time a child is 14 to 18 years old .
How common are growth plate fractures?
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 .
Can injury stunt growth?
At best, growth plate injuries don’t cause any problems . At worst, they can cause the injured bones to stop growing. “These injuries are potentially more harmful if they happen earlier because younger kids have more time left to grow,” Lonsdale said.
How can I increase my height?
- Eat a balanced diet. ...
- Use supplements with caution. ...
- Get the right amount of sleep. ...
- Stay active. ...
- Practice good posture. ...
- Use yoga to maximize your height.
How do you heal growth plates?
Many growth plate fractures can heal successfully when treated with immobilization : A cast is applied to the injured area and the child limits some types of activity. Doctors most often use cast immobilization when the broken fragments of bone are not significantly out of place.
How do doctors determine if a bone is still growing?
Scher. Pediatric orthopedic surgeons can estimate when growth will be completed by determining a child’s “bone age
How long does it take a fractured growth plate in ankle to heal?
Growth plate fractures in the ankle that occur at the end of the fibula, commonly associated with a typical ankle sprain, may not present on an X-ray. These often require about four to six weeks of recovery.
What happens if growth plate closes early?
An injury to a growth plate can cause it to harden and “close” prematurely, meaning it stops producing new bone before your child has stopped growing . An injury to a growth plate may also cause only a part of the growth plate to stop producing new bone while the rest of the growth plate continues to function normally.
