Evaluation of Children with Injuries Around the Knee

Knee injuries are common in children and adolescents. Failure to diagnose and treat these injuries in a timely fashion, can lead to potential complications like malunion, growth disturbances, limb length discrepancy, instability of the joint and in long run, early osteoarthritis or loss of physical activity. Frequently, the pediatrician or the primary care physicians are the first health care providers that the child would present to, and hence it is imperative that the presentation of common knee injuries be recognized. Appropriate referral and management of such injuries in children would minimize the likelihood of untoward consequences and optimize long term outcomes. Most preliminary diagnosis can be established based on adequate history and complete physical evaluation of the knee. This information, supplemented by radiographic assessment and if needed, advanced imaging studies like MRI, would help in definitive diagnosis and in formulating treatment plan for these children. The current review would focus on the important characteristics of common knee injuries in children, the recognition of which would help in the initial evaluation of a child.