CCSP CCSP Pediatric & Adolescent Sports Medicine Questions and Answers 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which growth plate region is most vulnerable to injury in skeletally immature athletes and should be assessed before assuming ligamentous sprain?
- Physeal (epiphyseal growth plate) (Correct answer)
- Periosteum
- Articular cartilage
- Synovial membrane
Correct answer: Physeal (epiphyseal growth plate)
The physis is the weakest link in a young athlete's musculoskeletal system, making physeal fractures more likely than ligamentous injuries under the same mechanism.
Question 2: Little Leaguer's shoulder is a stress injury affecting which structure in youth baseball pitchers?
- Proximal humeral physis (Correct answer)
- Acromioclavicular joint
- Glenohumeral labrum
- Rotator cuff tendons
Correct answer: Proximal humeral physis
Repetitive overhead throwing stresses the proximal humeral growth plate, causing a physeal stress reaction known as Little Leaguer's shoulder.
Question 3: Osgood-Schlatter disease involves traction apophysitis at which anatomical site?
- Tibial tubercle apophysis (Correct answer)
- Inferior patellar pole
- Proximal fibular epiphysis
- Distal femoral physis
Correct answer: Tibial tubercle apophysis
Repetitive quadriceps pull on the developing tibial tubercle causes inflammation and fragmentation at that apophysis in active adolescents.
Question 4: The Salter-Harris classification is used to describe fractures involving the:
- Growth plate (physis) in children (Correct answer)
- Adult vertebral endplate
- Articular cartilage in adults
- Cortical bone diaphysis
Correct answer: Growth plate (physis) in children
The Salter-Harris system classifies physeal fractures in pediatric patients from Type I (through physis) to Type V (crush), guiding prognosis.
Question 5: Which condition describes painful hip caused by femoral head slipping off the femoral neck, most common in overweight adolescent males?
- Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) (Correct answer)
- Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease
- Hip dysplasia
- Transient synovitis
Correct answer: Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE)
SCFE occurs when the capital femoral epiphysis displaces posteriorly and inferiorly, presenting with a limp and limited internal rotation in adolescents.
Question 6: A 14-year-old gymnast presents with low back pain that worsens with extension. The most likely diagnosis is:
- Spondylolysis (pars interarticularis stress fracture) (Correct answer)
- Lumbar disc herniation
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Ankylosing spondylitis
Correct answer: Spondylolysis (pars interarticularis stress fracture)
Repetitive hyperextension in young gymnasts causes fatigue fractures through the pars interarticularis, the hallmark of spondylolysis.
CCSP CCSP Pediatric & Adolescent Sports Medicine Questions and Answers 1
Which growth plate region is most vulnerable to injury in skeletally immature athletes and should be assessed before assuming ligamentous sprain?