Hi, My 13 Year Old Son Got A Small Fracture

Posted on Sun, 10 Mar 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 10 Mar 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, My 13 year old son got a small fracture of the growth plate in his left little proximal phalanx playing gaa 3 days ago. we attended a local private health clinic and had an xray to confirm - I have a photo of this if it would be helpful. He was buddy strapped and told to mobilise but not do any sport for 6 weeks. He is not in pain and taking no meds. He has almost full range of motion of the joint.
My son is a sailor and has a big competition in 6 weeks. He is sailing twice a week in preparation. He is devastated at the prospect of not being able to sail in the run up to the event. As sailing is a non contact sport, although it involved pulling hard on the main sheet rope, he was wondering if it is imperative that he not sail through the whole 6 weeks. Are there significant risks with using the hand whilst the fracture is healing?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
He should wait for at least three weeks.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
I have seen the attached X-ray. There is a small undisplaced fracture of growth plate. Doing movement of the finger now can displace the fragment. He has to wait for at least three weeks after which he can start with the practice after getting an X-ray done to confirm that the area is healing.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar