The pediatric orthopaedic team at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital provides expert care to fix broken bones and keep them growing strong.

When your child has a broken bone or fracture, it’s important that they receive care to both fix their injury and support the ongoing health of their still-growing bones.

The pediatric orthopaedists at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital are specially trained to treat children’s fractures while protecting their growth plates to ensure their bones continue to grow correctly. Growth plates are areas in a child’s bones where growth occurs. These areas are often injured during sports or other activities because they are weaker than adults’ solid bone.

Treatment at Johns Hopkins All Children’s is provided by the board-certified and board-eligible orthopaedic surgeons from Children's Orthopaedic and Scoliosis Surgery Associates, L.L.P. (COSSA), who specialize in orthopaedic fracture and trauma surgical care. If you think your child may have a fracture, he or she should see a pediatric orthopaedist as soon as possible, at most within five to seven days of the injury.

Some signs that your child may have a fracture are:

• They are experiencing numbness or tingling in the injured area or extremity.
• Their skin feels cold or appears pale or blue, especially in the hands, feet, fingers or toes.
• They have an obvious deformity, meaning that the limbs appear crooked or out of place.
• They have an open wound near the possible fracture.
• They are walking with a limp, which could indicate a fracture or infection.
• Bleeding under a fingernail near a possible broken finger.
• Pain that can’t be controlled with a cold pack or standard over-the-counter pain medication.
• They have multiple injuries, such as after a fall off a bicycle or car accident.
• They have a head injury in addition to a possible broken bone or orthopaedic injury.