Physeal Stress Injury in the Knee

Abstract

Physeal Stress Injury in the Knee I read with interest the article titled “Physeal Widening in the Knee Due To Stress Injury in Child Athletes” in a recent issue of AJR [1]. The authors of that article reported their findings in six child athletes, who ranged in age from 6 to 15 years, with physeal stress injury representing physeal widening. This study was a case series study without a nonathlete control. Although I do not have much experience with child athletes, I have found that traumatic physeal change was common in ordinary children of the same age group in our population (Fig. 1), as one of the authors has reported previously [2]. I was impressed by the fact that the child athletes in the study were well managed considering the high level of athletic activities and the mildness of physeal changes. Because we have MRI as a screening method, we often observe traumatic change in ordinary children who participate in only recreational sports or physical education class. I think that partially closed physes are weak links in children and that asymmetrically or partially closed physes may be vulnerable to trauma. Physeal injury with widening in this article [1] is not unique or specific to athletes. I would like to draw attention to the fact that physeal stress injuries may be more common in ordinary, nonathlete children, although organized research may be needed.