Tibial Spine Fracture in an Adolescent Male After Minor Injury: A Case Report

• Published in: Clinical practice and cases in emergency medicine Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 296 - 298
• Main Authors: Nunez, Alberto, Sleight, Shayna, Khan, Zara, Blasko, Barbara, Kim, Tommy Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States University of California Digital Library - eScholarship 01.11.2022; University of California Irvine, Department of Emergency Medicine publishing Western Journal of Emergency Medicine; eScholarship Publishing, University of California
• Subjects: Age groups; Case Report; Case reports; Clinical medicine; Emergency medical care; Fractures; Injuries; Knee; Ligaments; Medicine; Patient satisfaction; Pediatrics; Range of motion; Teenagers
• ISSN: 2474-252X; 2474-252X
• DOI: 10.5811/cpcem.2022.9.57228

A 13-year-old male presented with right knee pain and swelling from a basketball injury. The right knee exam demonstrated minimal swelling, decreased range of motion secondary to pain, and generalized tenderness. A radiograph of the right knee revealed a tibial spine fracture. Tibial spine fractures are avulsion fractures of the spine of the tibia at the insertion site of the anterior cruciate ligament. The incidence of avulsion fractures is higher in adolescents because the region of the apophyseal growth plate between the soft-tissue attachment site and the body of the bone is weaker in that age group. Tibial spine avulsion fractures are relatively uncommon and occur annually in approximately three per 100,000 children.