Pediatric Injuries About the Knee

Knee injuries are a common problem in children and adolescent population. They are usually related to sports and recreational practice. Growing participation of children in these activities, as well augmented training intensity, has shown an increased incidence of these lesions in younger ages. In skeletally immature patients, there are anatomical and physiological characteristics that should be considered. The presence of open physis represents a fragile spot more vulnerable to stress and creates unique injury patterns to children. This structure is also relevant in treatment decision-making. Accurate diagnosis and proper treatment are important not only to avoid physeal damage and growth disturbances, but also to allow the early return to daily activities and sports practice. In this chapter, we will discuss the etiologies, imaging findings, and management of the most common knee injuries that present in the pediatric population including ACL injuries, meniscal tears, and acute patellar dislocation, as well as other less frequent lesions such as tibial eminence fractures, osteochondral fractures, sleeve fractures, and tibial tuberosity fractures.