Management of sports related and recreational knee injuries in children: surgical aspects

Sports-related knee injuries are common in children and the management of these injuries continues to evolve. Sports injuries in children affect both growing bone and soft tissues and can result in damage of growth mechanisms with subsequent lifelong, growth disturbance. With an increasing number of paediatric and adolescent athletes presenting with knee injuries due to sports, a greater demand is put on clinicians and radiologists to assess the specific type of knee injury.

Traumatic forces applied to the immature skeleton cause a different type of injury than those seen in adults due to the differences in vulnerability of the musculoskeletal system, especially at the site of the growth cartilage. An overview of several sport-related knee injuries of young athletes is presented, based on anatomical location and their management. The training programmes should be considered an important training tool that growing athletes can adjust to the changes in their bodies and could prevent knee injuries.