Avulsion Fracture What is an avulsion fracture?
An avulsion fracture is an injury to the bone in a place where a tendon or ligament attaches to the bone. When an avulsion fracture occurs, the tendon or ligament pulls off a piece of the bone. Where do avulsion fractures occur? Avulsion fractures can occur anywhere in the body, but they are more common in some areas. For example, we commonly see avulsion fractures around the pelvis. Avulsion fractures are also more common in children than adults. In adults, the ligaments and tendons tend to be injured, whereas in children the bone may fail before the ligament or tendon is injured. Children have a particularly weak point in their skeleton called the growth plate. This is the area of bone that is actively growing. In children, tendons or ligaments near a growth plate can pull hard enough to cause the growth plate to fracture. What is the treatment of an avulsion fracture? Most often, an avulsion fracture is treated as a soft-tissue injury. For example, if a patient has an avulsion fract
