Osgood-Schlatter Disease - Medtick
Medtick

Osgood-Schlatter Disease

What is it?

Osgood-Schlatter disease causes pain at the tibial tubercle — the bony bump where the patellar tendon attaches to the tibia (shinbone).
  • It mainly occurs in children Osgood-Schlatter disease typically occurs in boys ages 12 to 14 and girls ages 10 to 13 mainly during puberty and periods of growth.

Diagnosis Tests

Consider:

The knee is a complex structure consisting of bone, cartilage, muscle, tendon, ligament, synovial fluid and nerves.

  • Knee pain could be the result of a problem with any one of these components, or a combination of several.
  • The knee can take time to heal due to generally there is poor blood supply in that area, X-rays will show some obvious conditions, tendons and ligament damage is difficult to diagnose on x rays, further investigation i.e a MRI scan maybe required.
  • Each condition have different healing times, a specialist in that healthcare field will monitor your healing time and should guide you to obtain optimum healing time as this can can from individual to individual.
  • Osgood-Schlatter disease usually goes away when the bones stop growing. Typically, this is when a teen is between 14 and 18 years old.

Kids Health

Please see your Medical Doctor If symptoms not improving after a week or one is  in a lot of pain

Cause

  • Child’s thigh muscles (quadriceps) pull on the tendon that connects the kneecap to the growth plate at the top part of the shinbone.
  • Occur in children and adolescents experiencing growth spurts during puberty
  • Activities involving running, jumping and swift changes of direction —(soccer, basketball, figure skating and ballet)

Non modifiable factors include:

  • Male gender
  • Patellofemoral alignment
  • Stage of physeal growth

Modifiable factors include:

Physiotutors

Symptoms

  • Hot and red and swelling of the knobble bone below the knee cap common in running sports?
  • Knee pain and tenderness at the tibial tubercle?
  • Swelling at the tibial tubercle?
  • Tight muscles in the front or back of the thigh?
  • Joint pain and stiffness?
  • Aching, painful muscles, muscle cramps/spasms/stiffness?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

General tips

  1. Rest – stop the exercise or activities that caused the injury until you feel better
  2. Ice – put an ice pack (you could use a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a teatowel) on the injury for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours
  3. Compress – wrap a bandage around the injury to support it
  4. Elevate – if possible, keep the injured area raised on a pillow when sitting or lying down

To help prevent swelling during the first 2 to 3 days, try to avoid:

  • Heat, such as hot baths and heat packs
  • Alcohol
  • Massages
When you can move the injured area without pain stopping you, try to keep moving it so the tendon doesn’t become stiff.

Do

  • Warm up before exercising and stretch afterwards
  • Wear suitable shoes for exercise
  • Take regular breaks from repetitive exercises

Don’t

  • Over-exercise tired muscles
  • Start a new sport without some training or practice
  • Stick to the same repetitive exercises

NHS.UK

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

  • Quadriceps tendonitis – Irritation, strain or injury to the quadricep tendon (tendons just above the knee cap).
  • Plica syndrome- inflammation of the plica is the fold in the thin synovial membrane that lines the knee joint.
  • Synovotis
    • The knee is a synovial hinge joint, and as such the joint is lined with a synovial membrane.
    • If this membrane becomes inflamed it is called synovitis.
    • It is caused by overuse or trauma and results in repeated bleeds into the joint.
    • If not treated early or correctly the synovial membrane becomes thickened with more blood vessels and becomes swollen and painful.
    • It is also associated with:
  • Osteochondritis Dissecans
  • Sinding-Larsen-Johansson Syndrome
    • This tends to affect active adolescents. It is an inflammation of a growth plate under the attachment of the patella tendon to the kneecap.
    • The symptoms include pain near the bottom of the kneecap accompanied by swelling and tenderness around the kneecap.
  • Lateral Patellar Facet overload syndrome
    • A  dull aching pain underneath, around the sides or below kneecap.
    • It is caused by increased pressure on the lateral facet of the patella. The reason for this is improper tracking, poor alignment or dislocation of the kneecap.
    • The condition is often apparent during repetitive exercise such as climbing stairs.
  • Popliteus muscle injury
    • A thin triangular muscle located in the depression at the back of the knee joint, called the popliteal fossa.
    • Exercise or trauma may cause injury to the popliteus muscle.
    • If the muscle is injured you may feel tenderness when rotating your leg inwards.

The Chelsea Clinic

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Osgood-Schlatter Disease in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

Diet, Exercise and Body Manipulations

Poole Hospital NHS Trust

The Physical Therapy Advisor

Kaiser Permanente

© Medtick - 2025. All Rights Reserved.