Injuries and chronic conditions of the knee in young athletes

Alfred Atanda*, Deepak Reddy, Jaime A. Rice, Michael A. Terry

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

• Pediatric knee pain can be difficult to manage in the outpatient setting. A thorough history is a vital part of the initial evaluation and should describe, quantify, characterize, and localize the pain. • A focused, systematic physical examination should be performed and findings compared with the contralateral extremity. • Plain radiographs should be ordered for all patients who have acute injuries and knee effusions to rule out a fracture. MRI is used to evaluate potential soft-tissue injuries that are undetected on standard radiographs. • Nontraumatic causes of knee pain such as neoplasms and inflammatory arthritides (eg, septic arthritis, Lyme arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis) can confuse the clinical picture and may have disastrous consequences if overlooked. • A thorough history and physical examination should be performed for patients who do not have an obvious cause of their knee pain. • Based on strong research evidence, (5) a Q-angle greater than 15 degrees is a predisposing factor for patellar subluxation. • Based on strong research evidence, (2) stable OCD lesions in patients who have open growth plates are preferably treated nonoperatively. • Based on strong research evidence, (1) the Lachman test has higher sensitivity than the anterior drawer test at detecting ACL tears.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)419-430
Number of pages12
JournalPediatrics in review
Volume30
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

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