Take the Growth Plate Quiz

The growth plate is weaker than bone that's already been formed. It's also weaker than the nearby ligaments and tendons that connect bones to other bones and muscles. In a growing child, a serious injury to a joint is more likely to damage a growth plate or bone than the ligaments that keep the joint stable.

Growth plate breaks are common childhood breaks. They occur twice as often in boys as in girls.

Growth plate breaks occur most often in the long bones of the fingers (phalanges). The next most often break is the outer bone of the forearm (radius) at the wrist. These injuries also occur often in the lower bones of the leg. These are the tibia and fibula.

For example, a gymnast who practices for hours on the uneven bars, a long-distance runner, and a baseball pitcher perfecting his curve ball can all have growth plate injuries.

Competitive sports like football, basketball, softball, track and field, and gymnastics cause a third of all injuries. Recreational activities like biking, sledding, skiing, and skateboarding cause a fifth of all growth plate breaks. Car, motorcycle, and all-terrain-vehicle accidents make up only a small percentage of breaks.

A child should never be allowed or expected to "work through the pain." Some injuries left untreated can cause permanent damage and interfere with proper physical growth.

Although X-rays are used to diagnose growth plate breaks, the growth plate itself does not show up on the X-ray. That’s because it hasn't yet hardened into solid bone. Instead, the growth plate appears as a gap between the shaft of a long bone (metaphysis) and the end of the bone (epiphysis). Because injuries to the growth plate may be hard to see on an X-ray, an X-ray of the noninjured side of the body may be taken so the 2 sides can be compared. In some cases, the doctor may use other tests, such as an MRI, CT scan, or ultrasound.