MIDDLE AND LOWER BODY BONE STRESS INJURIES IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION

Childhood and adolescence is a critical time for bone mass accrual which helps prevent adult osteoporosis. During this time, many adolescents engage in sports, which provides them with numerous health benefits. However, as trends in sport specialization and participation in year-round sports have increased over the past decade, the number of pediatric overuse injuries, including bone stress injuries, have increased, accounting for approximately 46-54% of all sports injuries. Bone stress injuries can range from stress reactions to stress fractures. There is limited evidence reporting on the various locations of middle and lower body bone stress injuries and recovery times in the pediatric population. The purpose of this study was to describe various locations of middle and lower body bone stress injuries and to identify differences in time to recovery in the pediatric population