While fractures in children are usually due to trauma only, there are a number of congenital and metabolic conditions which will predispose a child to fractures and lower the threshold of a bone to breaking. These conditions can also influence the pattern of the fracture and the process of bone healing.
There are a number of conditions which lead to specific pathological and clinical changes and also several relatively common conditions which must be considered when assessing any child with recurrent fractures.
We present a review of congenital and metabolic causes of fractures, focusing largely on the details of osteogenesis imperfecta and congenital pseudoarthrosis of the tibia.
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