The Knee Joint Is the Achilles' Heel of a Child's Body

Abstract

The study objective was to draw practicing physicians’ attention to the risk of knee joint disorders in children during intensive growth to ensure timely detection and treatment. Materials and Methods. We analyzed the results of studies on the diseases of the knee joint carried out by modern scientists over the past ten years. We also took into account the clinical observations of children receiving inpatient treatment at the regional children's hospital. The examination methods were radiography, computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound. Results and Discussion. During growth, a child's knee joint is subjected to enormous loads and is sensitive to external and internal factors. The knee joint plays a dominant role in the limb’s longitudinal growth; the growth zones grow so intensively that they can be compared to the work of a "bone nuclear reactor." The bones of the skeleton grow unevenly and intermittently. The peak height velocity is observed at 10–14 years in girls and at 13–18 years in boys; then, height velocity slows down, and after 19 years, height growth almost stops. During the period of intensive growth, bones are very sensitive to internal and external factors of shape formation (growth hormones, physiological loads, radiation, vibration, injuries, hypothermia, metabolic disorders, etc. Therefore, this part is most sensitive to various endogenous and exogenous factors, which is manifested by various dysplastic changes and diseases. Conclusions. During the intensive growth of the child, the knee joint is most vulnerable to various endogenous and exogenous negative factors, which is manifested by various diseases. Osteogenic sarcoma, fibrous cortical defect, and juvenile osteocartilaginous exostoses most often affect the weakest place of the knee joint – the metaphyses of the femur and tibia (Achilles’ heel).