Considerations for the Young Football Player

Tackle football is a uniquely American sport that carries with it a great risk to the developing musculoskeletal system of the prepubescent and adolescent athlete. During a time of great imbalance between longitudinal growth and muscular development, the physical nature of American football often results in very characteristic fractures to the youth athlete. This chapter will review common pelvic and lower extremity fractures, both of the avulsion and contact type, that befall youth football participants and their subsequent diagnosis, treatment, and potential complications.