Managing Osgood-Schlatter In Youth Athletes

Knee pain is never normal, but that’s especially true when it develops in teens and adolescents. One knee condition that tends to be more common in teens and children is known as Osgood-Schlatter disease, or OSD. Active children, especially those going through puberty and rapid periods of growth, are at an elevated risk for the condition. Below, we take a closer look at Osgood-Schlatter and explain how the condition is typically treated.

Causes And Symptoms Of Osgood-Schlatter

Osgood-Schlatter was named for the two surgeons who independently diagnosed the condition in 1903, Robert Osgood and Carl Schlatter. It is considered an overuse condition that can lead to the formation of a painful bump and swelling on the shinbone just below the knee. More specifically, the condition can set in due to chronic pulling of the patellar tendon on the area below the knee where the tendon attaches. Active children, especially those who regularly partake in sports like soccer, basketball, football, gymnastics, dance or any athletics that involve lots of running and jumping will put elevated stress on their patellar tendon, increasing their risk of developing Osgood-Schlatter.

Osgood-Schlatter can also be brought on due to underlying muscle and tendon tightness. We oftentimes assume these soft tissues are quite loose and flexible, especially in our youth, and while that’s true to an extent, rapid periods of growth can lead to muscle and tendon tightening. This is another reason why Osgood-Schlatter tends to develop during pre-adolescent growth spurts, oftentimes between the ages of 10-13 for girls and 12-14 for boys.

Symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter disease include:

• Knee pain
• Tenderness
• Swelling
• Discomfort that worsens with activity
• Inhibited gait

If you’re noticing any of these symptoms in your child, or they’ve been mentioning that one or both knees are sore after athletic activity, consider consulting with their primary care doctor, a knee specialist or turn to Dr. Reznik’s latest book, The Knee And Shoulder Handbook, for more information on how to treat Osgood-Schlatter and other knee conditions.

Diagnosing And Treating Osgood-Schlatter

Your primary care physician should review your child’s medical history, talk with you and your child about their symptoms and conduct a physical exam to see how the knee responds to simple movements. If in question, a consult with an orthopaedic specialist may be needed. In most cases, the diagnosis can be made with a good clinical exam and Xrays. An MRI or similar bone scan imaging test may be ordered in rare cases where more structures are in question or a clear fracture of the growth plate with displacement is the main concern based on the injury mechanism, history or clinical findings.

If your doctor believes or confirms that Osgood-Schlatter is plaguing your child, they’ll talk with you about your treatment options. Parents are oftentimes relieved to hear that OSD tends to respond very well to a few simple conservative treatment options. Although individual recommendations may vary based on the specific injury, most providers suggest a combination of the following treatments:

• RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation)
• Anti-inflammatories and over-the-counter pain relievers
• Knee wraps or knee braces during athletic activity
• Activity restrictions/Avoiding high-impact activities
• Targeted physical therapy

Most children make a full recovery in a period of weeks or months by pursuing the above techniques, but parents and children will want to be mindful of their activity levels in the future even if symptoms resolve. Putting too much stress on the knee without giving it enough time to heal from this strain can cause the problem to return.

For more tips on avoiding or treating Osgood-Schlatter, or to learn more about managing different knee conditions, consider picking up a copy of Dr. Reznik’s latest book, The Knee And Shoulder Handbook.

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