Periarticular fractures of the knee in child and adolescent athletes

Most of the sports-related lower limb injuries in children and adolescents involve the knee. Due to the physiological char - acteristics of the growing skeleton, fractures are more com - mon than ligamentous injuries in this age group. The most fre - quent type of injury is distal femoral physeal fractures fol - lowed by proximal tibial physeal injuries. Tibial tubercle avul - sions are rare. Reduction should be gently performed and fix - ation methods should ensure that no further damage to the physeal plate occurs. Even after proper treatment, there is a significant risk for subsequent leg length discrepancies and/or angular deformities, requiring that children be followed close - ly for at least two years. Arthroscopic techniques have become popular in recent years in the treatment of displaced tibial eminence fractures. Residual anterior laxity remains an important problem after the healing of these fractur e s .