Short Abstracts

Overuse Injuries in Teenagers

Authors: {'first_name': 'Frank', 'last_name': 'Smithuis'},{'first_name': 'Mario', 'last_name': 'Maas'}

Abstract

Overuse injuries in teenagers have increased in incidence in the past decades. Adequately diagnosing these injuries is a challenge (Figures 1 and 2), especially when unfamiliar with the specific overuse injury patterns and the development steps of the teenager musculoskeletal system. When considering overuse injuries in this population it is helpful to focus on two points or resemblance and dissemblance between teenagers and adults:

1. Teenagers are the same as adults. Increasingly teenagers are exposed to a higher – more professional – level of sport activities. Likewise, the specific activities they have to perform for their specific sport are the same as in adults (Figures 3 and 4).
2. Teenagers are not the same as adults. Their intrinsic biomechanics differ greatly from that of adults, with the growing (apo)physis as the most striking difference between both. Thus, the same specific activity result in different injuries (Figure 5).

In this lecture, we will focus mainly on similarities between overuse injuries in different anatomical regions. How do these injuries relate to each other, considering their similarities in development and different types of stress? Could we use the basics of one type of overuse injury as a guideline for the other injuries?

Keywords: pediatric radiology, overuse, stress injury, stress fractures, apophysitis, avulsion fracture 

DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/jbsr.2653

 Accepted on 07 Sep 2021            Submitted on 07 Sep 2021

Figure 1 

Example of diagnostic problem in a specific area. Imaging alone is not conclusive and differential diagnosis as mentioned above was reported.

Figure 2 

Example of diagnostic problem in a specific area. Imaging alone is not conclusive and differential diagnosis as mentioned above was reported.

Figure 3 

Anatomical region with specific pathology in overhead throwing athletes; the MCL, with its origin and insertion.

Figure 4 

Anatomical region with specific pathology in soccer players; the os pubis, with its insertions of rectus abdominus, adductor longus, the aponeurosis and symphysis, which all can be affected.

Figure 5 

Anatomical region with specific evolution of apophysis particularly in soccer players; due to repeated chronic stress apophyseal maturity and fusion can be delayed.

Competing Interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare.