Athletic Training Blog Series
Osgood Schlatter Disease
Do you have a weird bump on the front of your knee? Are you 12-15 and growing like a weed? Do you play lots of sports, especially ones that have jumping like basketball? You might have Osgood Schlatter Disease. While the name sounds scary-this is a very common problem in growing adolescents that are active and going through growth spurts.
Osgood Schlatter Disease, by definition, is inflammation just below the knee where the tendon from the Patella (kneecap) attaches to the Tibia (shinbone). It occurs most often during growth spurts when bones, muscles, tendons, and other structures are changing rapidly. Since physical activity and sports cause stress on these same structures, athletes, especially those in sports with running and jumping, are more likely to experience this issue. That being said-less active adolescents can experience it as well.
Osgood Schlatter, also known as Jumper's Knee, occurs because growth plates are still open. When an athlete is active the Quadriceps muscle pulls on the patella tendon which in turn pulls on the Tibial Tuberosity which is on the growth plate of the tibia in growing adolescents. This can lead to inflammation, and a prominence or a bump. This can become very pronounced in some athletes. Symptoms of this are pain and tenderness in the Tibial Tuberosity area, swelling, and tight quads or hamstrings (front and back muscles of upper leg respectively).
There are a few things needed to diagnose this injury. There will be hands on examination of the knee including palpation (feeling with pressure) of the Tibial Tuberosity which will be painful if there is a positive diagnosis. Your AT, PT, or MD may also watch you walk, run or jump to see what brings on painful symptoms. If you are at your MD’s office, they may order X-Rays to confirm diagnosis and rule out other issues.
Now what? Unfortunately in the inflammation stage it will be mean limiting activity to get the pain and swelling under control. If you are in a significant amount of pain, or have a limp this can be a long process. Ice and rest will be your best friend early on. Once your pain starts to subside, a stretching protocol will be introduced. Athletes should focus on quads and hamstrings. This can include light exercise band work as well. As with some of the other issues I have blogged about NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, etc) can be used to help with pain and swelling-but as with any medication it should be used as prescribed or recommended by your MD. The good news is that symptoms will completely resolve when a child completes the adolescent growth spurt, which is typically 14 for girls, and 16 for boys. Unfortunately the prominence is there for the long run.
