Adolescent Athlete Stress Fractures Associated with Vitamin D Insufficiency: Three Cases with Review of the Literature

The authors present 3 adolescent athletes who presented with stress fractures in their lower extremities, initially diagnosed as tumors. All 3 patients received an inconclusive magnetic resonance imaging before referral; fractures were confirmed on radiographs and computed tomography. All were found...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJBJS case connector Vol. 11; no. 1
Main Authors Haase, Douglas R, Brown, Kevin, Templeton, Kimberly J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 19.02.2021
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Athletes
Fractures, Stress - diagnostic imaging
Fractures, Stress - etiology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Vitamin D
Vitamin D Deficiency - complications
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Summary:The authors present 3 adolescent athletes who presented with stress fractures in their lower extremities, initially diagnosed as tumors. All 3 patients received an inconclusive magnetic resonance imaging before referral; fractures were confirmed on radiographs and computed tomography. All were found to have vitamin D insufficiency. Vitamin D insufficiency is a global epidemic mainly focused on adults and young-adult athletes. These case reports raise concerns about a growing prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in adolescents, the potential risk of stress fracture, and the need for screening and possible supplementation in adolescent athletes to improve their bone health.
ISSN:2160-3251
DOI:10.2106/JBJS.CC.20.00367