An avulsion fracture occurs when a fragment of bone separates from the rest of the bone. They tend to be more common in younger individuals, with peak risk in females between the ages of 13 and 14 and peak risk in males between ages 15 and 17. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at why this type of fracture is more common among teens and how Dr. Silverman can help you treat this type of injury.
Understanding Avulsion Fractures
Let’s take a look at our anatomy in order to understand how an avulsion fracture occurs. Your tendons connect muscle to bone, and when the muscle powers a movement, the tendon transfer this power to the bone. An avulsion fracture occurs when your muscles put more pressure on the bone than the bone can withstand. Young, strong athletes may have well-developed muscles, but their bones are still growing and developing, making this a common time for the force of the tendon to pull a small piece of the bone away from the rest of the bone.
Avulsion fractures are common in places like the ankle, foot, hip or elbow. They tend to develop around soft areas of cartilage called apophyes, which are areas of the skeleton where the bone if rapidly growing and not yet fully hardened. After your child reaches their mature height, these areas become stronger like the rest of the bone, but until then they can be hot spots for avulsion fractures.
Because avulsion fractures require a significant muscle force being transferred to the tendon and bone, they most commonly occur during athletic activity while teens are running, jumping and changing directions all while putting significant stress on their lower body. Sports like soccer, tennis, football, track and gymnastics are especially common sports for these types of fractures to develop. Symptoms include a popping or cracking sound at the moment of injury, bruising or swelling at the injury site, pain when stressing the affected area and difficulty walking.
Diagnosing And Treating Youth Avulsion Fractures
During a consultation with a foot specialist, your doctor will take a closer look at the foot and talk with your teen about the sports they play and the moment of injury. Following this conversation and physical exam, they will likely order an imaging test to get a better look at the damage. An X-ray, MRI or ultrasound can help provide an accurate diagnosis.
Fortunately, most youth avulsion fractures do not require surgery. Oftentimes the bone can heal as needed without surgical intervention, but that doesn’t mean your child will just be able to continue their active lifestyle in the meantime. They are going to need to take a break from athletic activity for a short while in order to give the area enough time to heal. Depending on the nature and severity of the fracture, the injury can take anywhere from a couple weeks to several months to completely heal.
It’s also helpful to gradually return to athletic activity so that your body can slowly get back to a regular level of intensity. Jumping back in at full speed can lead to a setback, so rest the area and slowly reintroduce stressful activities once given the green light by your physician.