Osgood Schlatters is a disease that entails an excruciating and painful swelling of the enlarged area of the upper shinbone, which is just below the human knee. This bump's nomenclature is called the anterior tibial tubercle.

Causes

Many individuals have a myriad of contentions as to what degree of causation is thought to be responsible for osgood schlatters disease being caused by a repetition of small injues caused by repeated overuse by youths who overuse the area before they are finished growing.The human quadricep muscle is a very robust and comprehensive, impermeable muscle on the front part of an individual's upper leg. When this muscle contracts ( also known as squeezing) it causes the straightening of the knee joint. Subsequently, the quadricep muscle becomes a vital muscle for a plethora of exercise techniques such as running, climbing, jumping etc.

When an individual chooses to overuse the quadricep muscle and hence engage in a multitude of sports activities during their requisite growth spurt, the area tends to become swollen and irritated and causes a bunch of pain that can otherwise be mistaken as "growing pains." Active adolescents who engage in many sports not limited to soccer, basketball, volleyball, water polo etc. and those who participate in gymantics tend to be predisposed to get osgood schaltters disease. Science has clearly come to the conclusion that boys are affected more heavily by osgood schlatters disease than are girls

Symptoms

The main symptom that manifests itself is a noticeable painful swelling over a bump on the lower leg bone in an individual which is also commonly known as their shinbone. The symptoms tend to present themselves on one or both of the individual's legs.

An individual experiencing osgood schlatters symptoms have have leg or knee pain which tends to get exacerbated when that individual engages in running, jumping, climbing activities etc. The area is tender to pressure, and swelling ranges from mild to very severe.

Exams and Tests

If an individual goes to see a doctor who specializes in knee and joint health they routinely diagnosis osgood schlatters disease by utilizing the scientific method and performing a simple in office diagnosis.

A bone x-ray may be normal, or it may show swelling or damage to the tibial tubercle -- a bony bump below the knee. X-rays are not commonly utilized unless the doctor wants to definitvely rule out other causes of the pain you are experiencing.

Possible routes of treatment

While nothing in life is absolutely definitive, medical science has generally accepted the fact that osgood schlatters disease will inexorably dissapear on its own once the child in question reaches his apex of growth.

Options of treatment available to anyone:

•Having long restful sessions with minimal strain on your knee joint for your child who exhibits osgood symptoms

• Utillizing an icepack over the afflicted area between two and four times a day and subsequent to physical exertion

• Drugs such as Ibuprofen or a plethora of other nonsteroidal anti-infllamatory drugs - in doctor lingo NSAIDs- or acetaminophen - which most of the population knows as Tylenol and other fever retardents.

More often than not in afflicted individuals, the prescribed condition will remedy itself in due time using the annointed methods above.

Adolescents should be allowed to play sports if the activity does not cause too much discomfort. It is important to note though that keeping activity to a bare minimum will increase the rate at which an individual's symptoms improve. Sometimes, a child will need to take a break from most or all sports for 2 or more months.

In the rare case where symptoms do not go away, a cast or brace may be used to support the leg until it heals. The healing of the leg is usually completely in approximately six to eight weeks. Crutches may be used for walking to keep weight off the painful leg.

Rarely, surgery may be needed.

Outlook (Prognosis)

Most cases get better on their own after a few weeks or months. Most cases eventually go away once the child finished growing.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

If your child's knee or leg pain does not get better after a few weeks of treatment then it would be advisable to contact a suitable health care professional.

Avoidance

Relatively innocuous injuries that could potentially cause osgood schlatters disease generally go unnoticed or at the very least are not thought of as having a large magnitude of effect on the child's pain. Thus, prevention is often very difficult toachieve. Although, stretching on a regular basis before and after any exercise or athletic activity can be an effective measure to prevent future injury.

Alternative Names

Osteochondrosis