J Korean Orthop Assoc.  2013 Apr;48(2):138-141. 10.4055/jkoa.2013.48.2.138.

Stress Fracture of the Patella in a Child

• Choi SP
• Ahn GY
• Nam IH
• Moon GH
• Lee YH
• Liu TY

• KMID: 1424105
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4055/jkoa.2013.48.2.138

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.

Keyword

patella; stress fractures

MeSH Terms

Child
Female
Fractures, Stress
Humans
Muscles
Patella
Running
Tendons

Figure

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  Figure 1 Plain lateral radiograph of the knee shows a sclerotic lesion of the patella.

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  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.

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  Figure 3 The sclerotic lesion had disappeared on the radiograph taken eight months later, which suggested healing of the stress fracture.

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