What Is Osgood-Schlatter Disease?
Knee pain is a common complaint among growing young athletes.
Doctors define Osgood-Schlatter as an inflammatory disease of the growth plate at the top of the shin. This growth plate is a soft tissue called cartilage.
It gets inflamed by repeated motion as the knee's main tendon pulls on the shin.
When a child finishes growing, their cartilage hardens into bone. Until then, these parts of the body can become inflamed when overused.
Active children are more at risk of overuse injuries in their joints, like the knee. Osgood-Schlatter affects about 10% of adolescents.
What Causes Osgood-Schlatter Disease?
Tendons attach muscles to bones. These fibrous bands help our joints move.
The patellar tendon is a tendon in your knee that holds your kneecap in place.
It starts at the thigh muscle and attaches to the front of the shinbone, right below the knee. When overused, it can cause Osgood-Schlatter disease.
The constant pulling of that knee's tendon on the shin's growth plate causes pain and swelling.
It happens with young people because their bones and muscles don't all grow at the same rate. Their growth plates are also cartilage that hasn't hardened into bone yet. That means the plates are more at risk for injury.
Osgood-Schlatter usually goes away once a child stops growing. Their bones, muscles, and tendons become more "in balance," and the growth plates have sealed into bone.
What are the risk factors and complications of Osgood-Schlatter disease?
Young athletes are most at risk for Osgood-Schlatter disease. It's most common in those who play sports that involve jumping, running, and landing.
Sports that seem to have the highest rate of this knee condition include:
- Soccer.
- Gymnastics.
- Basketball.
- Cross-country, track, and distance running.
Children who aren't athletes can also get Osgood-Schlatter.
Doctors diagnose Osgood-Schlatter most often in girls between 8 and 12 and boys between 12 and 15.
It lasts between 12 to 24 months and resolves on its own 90% of the time.
There are no long-term complications in most cases.
Sometimes a person with Osgood-Schlatter has a bump below the knee. The bump is usually painless. If it does cause pain, doctors may suggest surgery to remove it.