Osgood – Schlatter Disease
Commonly in practice, especially at this time of the year we see a cohort of patients- generally teenage boys- playing footy or basketball- complaining of knee pain and quite commonly they say there is bump on my knee- it wasn’t there before and now it hurts when I jump, squat or kick the ball.
Rest normally improves the pain, but it is easily aggravated when our teens return to sport. So what is it? And how can Osteopaths help?
What is it?
Osgood- Schlatter disease is a common cause of knee pain in growing adolescents. It is an inflammation of the area just below the knee where the tendon from the patella attaches to the tibia.
Osgood-Schlatter disease most often occurs during growth spurts, when bones, muscles, tendons and other structures are changing rapidly. Due to physical activity putting additional stress on bones and muscles, children who participate in athletics – especially running and jumping sports, are at increased risk. The repetitive strain from the strong pull of the quadriceps muscle is produced during sporting activities. However, less active adolescents can also experience this problem.
Common signs and symptoms
O Symptoms are often related to squatting, stair climbing, running, jumping and other sports related activities
O In some cases both knees are affected
O Knee pain and tenderness at the area just below the knee cap
O Swelling at the bony prominence below the knee cap
O Tight muscles in the front or back of the thigh
O Pain when kneeling down
How can our Practitioners help?
O Reduce muscle tension/guarding
O Heat/ice therapy
O Exercises and rehabilitation to improve flexibility and strengthen surrounding musculature
O Improving mobility through the knees, ankles and feet
O Dry needling
O Clinical Pilates
How long will it take to get better?
With appropriate hands on treatment and management, symptoms tend to subside within two years. Persistent symptoms are followed by the development of loose bone fragments above the shin bone or within the patella ligament, for which in these cases symptoms will disappear with surgical treatment. Patients can still exercise with pain, however the general advice is for them to use “relative rest” ie if hurts more than usual give it some rest, but if you can play and it isn’t getting worse and you are using lots of the above advice to help manage the condition.
Check out our practitioner profiles to determine who might be the best fit!
Osgood-Schlatter Disease (Knee Pain) – OrthoInfo – AAOS. https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/osgood-schlatter-disease-knee-pain