What is Osgood-Schlatter disease?
The disease Osgood-Schlatter is a disorder that can cause a painful bony protrusion in the tibia, below the knee. This disease occurs mainly in the growth cycles during puberty of children and adolescents.
As well as it is presented thanks to the practice of sports that include running, making quick changes of direction and jumping, such as basketball, soccer and ballet. Previously this disease was mostly in children, but nowadays it has been leaning a bit towards girls, as more and more girls practice these sports.
Mainly this disease occurs in the period between 12 and 14 years in children and girls between 10 and 12 years. This age difference is due, as girls start puberty many times before children. Osgood-Schlatter disease usually goes away on its own, when the child's bones stop growing.
Causes of Osgood-Schlatter disease
When children practice activities that involve jumping, running, and bending, such as basketball, soccer, ballet, and volleyball, the child's quadriceps muscles pull the tendon that connects the growth cartilage with the ball joint, in the upper area. of the tibia.
When the tension becomes repetitive, it can cause the tendon to pull the growth cartilage where it is inserted into the tibia, which causes inflammation and pain related to the disease. Occasionally, the child's organism may try to close the hole with new bone that is growing, which could cause a bony lump in the affected area.
Symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter disease
Inflammation and pain in the knee just below the kneecap are the main manifestations of the disease. The pain usually increases when activities such as kneeling, running, jumping among others and can be calmed with rest.
The normal thing is that the disease affects only one knee, but there are cases where both knees are affected. The discomfort can last for weeks, even months, and may recur until the child finishes the process of puberty.
Treatment of Osgood-Schlatter disease
In the case of patients suffering from this disease, it disappears on its own, only with a little rest and time. The most common is that exercises are prescribed to strengthen the muscles around the knee and quadriceps. These can be done with a therapist or at home.
The treatments that are applied to alleviate the effects of the disease are:
Rest the knee of sports activities.
Apply ice on the knee, at least 3 times a day.
Keep the leg elevated for short periods of time.
Keep the leg compressed with an elastic bandage.
Yes these treatments are not effective, doctors may suggest that the patient start using orthotics. These are very helpful in decreasing the tension in the tendons and muscles around the knee.
Ibuprofen and paracetamol, are analgesics that help relieve inflammation and pain caused by the disease. The use of crutches is essential when the severity of the disease is very high. When all of the above do not work, the last resort as treatment to treat the disease is surgery.
