Stress Fracture of the Patella in a Child

Seong-Pil Choi; Gil-Yeong Ahn; Il-Hyun Nam; Gi-Hyuk Moon; Yeong-Hyun Lee; Tzung-Yian Liu

doi:10.4055/jkoa.2013.48.2.138

Journal List > J Korean Orthop Assoc > v.48(2) > 1013215

Go to TopGo to Top Go to BottomGo to Bottom

TOOLS

Choi, Ahn, Nam, Moon, Lee, and Liu: Stress Fracture of the Patella in a Child

Case Report

Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association

Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association 2013; 48(2): 138-141.

Published online: 25 April 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4055/jkoa.2013.48.2.138

Stress Fracture of the Patella in a Child

Seong-Pil Choi, M.D., Gil-Yeong Ahn, M.D., Il-Hyun Nam, M.D., Gi-Hyuk Moon, M.D., Yeong-Hyun Lee, M.D., Tzung-Yian Liu, M.D.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Pohang St. Mary's Hospital, Pohang, Korea.

Correspondence to: Gil-Yeong Ahn, M.D. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Pohang St. Mary's Hospital, 17 Daejamdong-gil, Nam-gu, Pohang 790-825, Korea. TEL: +82-54-289-4569, FAX: +82-54-277-2072, kkirra@paran.com

Received 15 September 2012 Revised 7 February 2013 Accepted 8 March 2013

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Stress fracture usually occurs in physically active individuals as a result of repetitive strenuous muscle and tendon forces acting on bones that have not adapted to such forces. To the best of our knowledge, the literature contains few reports of stress fracture of the patella. We report herein on a case of a nine-year-old female who developed a stress fracture in the patella after running.

Keywords: patella, stress fractures

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Plain lateral radiograph of the knee shows a sclerotic lesion of the patella.

Figure 2

(A) A sagittal T1-weighted magnetic resonance image. An oblique line of low signal density is visible on the inferior pole of the patella. (B) A sagittal fat-suppression magnetic resonance image confirms the presence of surrounding bone edema related to a stress fracture of the patella.

Figure 3

The sclerotic lesion had disappeared on the radiograph taken eight months later, which suggested healing of the stress fracture.

References

1. Keeley A, Bloomfield P, Cairns P, Molnar R. Iliotibial band release as an adjunct to the surgical management of patellar stress fracture in the athlete: a case report and review of the literature. Sports Med Arthrosc Rehabil Ther Technol. 2009. 1:15.

2. Wall J, Feller JF. Imaging of stress fractures in runners. Clin Sports Med. 2006. 25:781–802.

3. Muller W. Der militarische Abrissermudungsschaden. Deutsch Militararzt. 1943. 8:283–286.

4. Devas MB. Stress fractures of the patella. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1960. 42:71–74.

5. Norfray JF, Schlachter L, Kernahan WT Jr, et al. Early confirmation of stress fractures in joggers. JAMA. 1980. 243:1647–1649.

6. Orava S, Taimela S, Kvist M, Karpakka J, Hulkko A, Kujala U. Diagnosis and treatment of stress fracture of the patella in athletes. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 1996. 4:206–211.

7. Drabicki RR, Greer WJ, DeMeo PJ. Stress fractures around the knee. Clin Sports Med. 2006. 25:105–115.

8. Donnelly LF, Bisset GS, Helms CA, Squire DL. Chronic avulsive injuries of childhood. Skeletal Radiol. 1999. 28:138–144.

9. Mason RW, Moore TE, Walker CW, Kathol MH. Patellar fatigue fractures. Skeletal Radiol. 1996. 25:329–332.

10. Piétu G, Hauet P. Stress fracture of the patella. Acta Orthop Scand. 1995. 66:481–482.

TOOLS

Similar articles