Though not universally applicable, hundreds of thousands of individuals annually report a startling bony bump located just below their kneecap. The abnormal protrusion often induces pain when kneeling, squatting, running, and any other knee-intensive activity. This condition is known as “Osgood Schlatter Disease,” and affects over 200,000 people in the United States alone. 

Anatomy and Age

Osgood Schlatter Disease induces an abnormally high level of bone growth at the tibial tubercle. This bone is situated just where the patellar tendon attaches to the tibia. It typically affects children and adolescents undergoing rapid skeletal development and growth spurts. During this time frame, bones experience growth at a rate faster than that of surrounding muscles and tendons. Because of this, the highest affected age demographic averages at about 10–13 years for girls and 12–14 years for boys.

Symptoms

How does one contract Osgood Schlatter Disease? Generally preadolescents contract the disease after a long period of overexertion on the lower body, especially at the knee joints. Extended periods of time spent on leg workouts, running sprints, plyometrics, and other forms of lower body exercise can all contribute to Osgood Schlatter Disease. It is important to be mindful of how much force your body can exert on itself without inflicting both severe short and long-term toll. Prominent OSD symptoms include:

• Bony bump just below the kneecap
• Tenderness below the knee
• Swelling around the knee
• Limping following intense knee exertion
• Pulsing/recurring pain with pressure on the tibial tubercle (eg. every time you walk on that leg)

Diagnosis

Diagnosticians have a wide variety of factors to evaluate before properly issuing an OSD diagnosis. They must consider one’s daily exercise and level of exertion on the knee joint area, one’s physical routines at home (stairs are significant in contributing to OSD), and other essentials to a comprehensive physical examination. Some of the more advanced methods for diagnosing Osgood Schlatter may include MRI and x-ray scans, bone imaging, etc.

Duration and Treatment

Osgood Schlatter Disease generally lasts between 1–2 years for most preadolescents. In other words, the disease will go away on its own after the individual has stopped undergoing skeletal growth. The bump on the tibial tubercle will remain even after full recovery; however, the pain that accompanied it does indeed disappear. It is worth mentioning that the duration of OSD will range per individual– I’ve had OSD for over five years now unfortunately– and the provided time frame is only an average estimate based on preexisting values.

In terms of treatment, there is no immediate cure to permanently cure OSD pain. Just as with any other disease, there are methods to alleviate the symptoms of pain. The most popular methods are as follows:

• Physical therapy (consistently stretching the affected area with resistance bands, controlled movements, braces, etc.)
• Wearing a knee brace or neoprene (synthetic rubber) brace over the affected knee
• R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation)
• Any pain-relieving medication
• Extensive periods of rest
• Refraining from any intense physical activity

Conclusion

Osgood Schlatter Disease can appear a demoralizing condition for preadolescents, especially as they’re incredibly young to wrestle with such a disease. However debilitating it may appear, OSD does not permanently affect individuals and will go away with time, proper rest, and treatment if necessary. The most crucial point to take away for affected individuals is that, given enough time, it does eventually disappear, and a gradual return to prior levels of physical activity is possible.