Osgood-Schlatter Disease - 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).

  • NHS

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