Knee Pain/Osgood Schlatters

Osgood Schlatter’s Disease (OSD) is far less frightful than its name suggests. Rather than being a disease, it is better described as an overuse injury and is a common cause of knee pain in active children. OSD is an inflammation of the bone at the top of the shin (tibia) where the tendon from the kneecap (patella) attaches. OSD affects children during high growth periods due to the soft ends of growing bones being unable to contend with the rate of change.

Symptoms Of Knee Pain/Osgood Schlatters

Swelling or tenderness is felt at the front top of your shin bone, over the bump where the patellar tendon inserts into the tibia. The pain usually worsens with exercise, is relieved by rest and causes you to limp after exercise.

Children increase their risk of developing OSD if they play sport that involves running, twisting, and jumping such as basketball, football, figure skating and gymnastics. Your child may experience muscle tightness around the knee in the hamstrings and quadriceps.

Treatment of Knee Pain/Osgood Schlatters

First of all, it is important to ensure that OSD is the actual diagnosis. Our highly skilled Physiotherapists will carry out a detailed assessment to diagnose your child’s knee pain.

As slowing down the rate at which your child is growing is not really an option, ensuing the control of the hip, knee and ankle joints is imperative for reducing the overall stress on the bony insertion. Use of ice for pain relief and soft tissue massage – including trigger point release work – is recommended. Advice on activity modification may also be needed.

Our Expertise

Our Physiotherapists are highly trained and qualified to provide expert care to our patients. They are fully insured and are chartered by the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists (ISCP).

We have a team of Clinical leads who visits our Physiotherapists and clinics to ensure a level of customer service and quality care that exceeds our competition is given to patients every time.