Wisdom from a grand master
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Keith D. Yates 24
OFFICIAL KARATE Summer 2012
Growth in
hat is a growth plate? No, It’s not that mold growing on an old dinner dish in your refrigerator—it’s the area of living, growing tissue at the end of bones in the body of an adolescent or child. Each long bone has at least a couple of growth plates (called physis), one at each end. This growth plate will determine the final shape and length of the mature bone. Sometimes during adolescence, the body’s bones stop growing and these growth plates are replaced by solid bone. Why is is important for you to know about growth plates? Because they are a common site of injury for kids and teenagers. In fact, almost 20% of all childhood fractures occur in this area. You see, the growth plate is the weakest part of the skeleton for children. A serious injury to this area could damage a growth plate and cause future problems. Girls tend to reach skeletal maturity earlier than boys. Their growth plates usually close around ages 14 to 15, while boys’ growth plates close later, at around ages 16 to 17. Before this growth is complete, the growth plates are susceptible to breaks or fractures. An adult whose bones have finished growing might simply pull a muscle or a tendon after a fall. But in a