Pay attention to the symptoms.
What does a growth plate fracture mean?
A growth plate fracture affects the layer of growing tissue near the ends of a child's bones.
Growth plates are the softest and weakest sections of the skeleton — sometimes even weaker than surrounding ligaments and tendons.
An injury that might cause a joint sprain for an adult can cause a growth plate fracture in a child.
Growth plate fractures often need immediate treatment because they can affect how the bone will grow. An improperly treated growth plate fracture could result in a fractured bone ending up more crooked or shorter than its opposite limb. With proper treatment, most growth plate fractures heal without complications.
Signs and symptoms of a growth plate fracture may include:
Pain and tenderness, particularly in response to pressure on the growth plate
Inability to move the affected area or to put weight or pressure on the limb
Warmth and swelling at the end of a bone, near a joint
Causes
Growth plate fractures often are caused by a fall or a blow to the limb, as might occur in:
- A car accident
- Competitive sports, such as football, basketball, running, dancing or gymnastics
- Recreational activities, such as biking, sledding, skiing or skateboarding
Growth plate fractures occur twice as often in boys as in girls, because girls finish growing earlier than do boys. By the age of 12, most girls growth plates have already matured and been replaced with solid bone.
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/growth-plate-
fractures/symptoms-causes/syc-20351979
