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Osgood Schlatters Disease
What is Osgood Schlatter Disease?
Osgood Schlatter’s Disease is far less frightful than it’s name suggests. Rather than being a disease, it's better described as an overuse injury.
Osgood Schlatter’s Disease is an inflammation of the bone at the top of the shin (tibia) where the tendon from the kneecap (patella) attaches.
Osgood Schlatter’s Disease usually strikes adolescents who are active during their growth spurts, which is the two year period where they grow most rapidly.
Growth spurts can begin any time between the ages of 8-13 for girls and 10-15 for boys.
Osgood Schlatter’s Disease is most common in 11 to 14 year olds. Growth spurts make kids vulnerable because their bones, muscles, and tendons are growing quickly and not always at the same time.
Osgood Schlatter’s Disease is more likely in teens who participate in sports that involve running, twisting, and jumping, such as basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, tennis, figure skating, and gymnastics.
With exercise, the muscles place increased stress on the growth plate at the top of the shinbone. The growth plate is a layer of cartilage near the end of a bone where most of the bone’s growth occurs. It is weaker and more vunerable to injury than the rest of the bone during this growing phase.
What the Symptoms of Osgood Schlatter Disease?
Swelling or tenderness is felt at the front top of your shin bone, over the bump where the patella tendon inserts into the tibia.
The pain usually:
•Worsens with exercise
•Is relieved by rest
•Causes you to limp after exercise
What is the Symptom Progression?
While a mild case of Osgood Schlatter’s Disease can resolve within days, severe cases must be professionally managed to avoid growth plate damage. The pain and swelling symptoms can last for years.
Longstanding Osgood Schlatter’s Disease usually results in a permanent large bony lump at the top of your shin, which can hamper your ability to kneel during your entire life.
How to Treat Osgood Schlatter's Disease
Physiotherapy assessment and treatment is highly recommended in the treatment of Osgood Schlatter Disease.
It is important to ensure that Osgood Schlatter’s Disease is the actual diagnosis. Other sources of anterior knee pain require different treatment.
A similar but different injury is Sinding-Larsen-Johansson Disease.
Early Injury Management
A combination of ice treatment and a home tens unit will reduce pain and improve the healing rate. This usually hastens the recovery rate of sufferers. Ice is useful at home or after exercise.
Rest is also important in the management of Osgood Schlatter’s Disease and relief of pain. In mild cases it may enough to just limit the physical activity you do so that the pain is only mild and only lasts for 24hrs. When symptoms become worse it may be necessary to take a short break from your aggravating sports. Discuss your workload with your physiotherapist for advice on how to best manage your sport and your injury.
Stretching
One of the common reasons for developing Osgood Schlatter’s Disease is excessively tight quadriceps muscles, hamstrings and calves. Your physiotherapist will prescribe specific stretches for you.
Strengthening
Your muscle control around the knee will usually need to be addressed to control or maintain your symptoms during the active phase of Osgood Schlatter. Your therapist will commonly prescribe or modify exercises for your quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, foot arch muscles and gluteals (buttock muscles).