What is Causing Your Knee Pain? Osgood-Schlatter Disease? How to Tell.

Osgood-Schlatter disease is a common but temporary knee pain that can affect older children and teenagers who play sports. Particularly sports that include a lot of jumping and knee bending – hockey, basketball, volleyball, skating, soccer, ballet, and gymnastics are examples.

The pain occurs where the kneecap tendon attaches to the bony bump (tibial tuberosity) below the knee.

Tendons attach bone to bone. The kneecap tendon is called the Patella Tendon and is vulnerable to injury where it attaches to the bony lump. This is especially true during growth spurts when the bones are growing rapidly, and the patellar tendon is relatively short. The growth spurts commonly occur in boys (ages 11-18) and girls (ages 10-16).

During a sporting event, repeated excessive pulling of the patellar tendon where it attaches to the bone can result in inflammation and pain at this attachment point.

The pain may be mild and last only while playing the sport, or it could be a constant pain that prevents an athlete from participating in a sport. The pain usually occurs in one knee, but in 20-30 percent of cases, it can occur in both knees. The problem is more common in boys. Unfortunately, the pain can continue for 6-18 months, or the growth spurt occurs.

How to tell if you have Osgood-Schlatter

Symptoms:

1. Pain

2. Swelling

3. Redness

4. Tenderness of the tendon

5. Bony bump at the top of the shin bone, just below the kneecap.

These symptoms will generally worsen with activities that involve a lot of jumping and knee bending. The doctor may order knee X-rays if the diagnosis is not obvious.

How to treat Osgood-Schlatter Disease will be covered in another video in this series of videos on knee pain. The video is entitled, "How to Treat Osgood-Schlatter Disease of the Knee."

Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program