A Brief Description of Osgood-Schlatter
Osgood-Schlatter is a musculoskeletal condition seen in children and adolescents. This condition is characterized by inflammation just below the knees where the patellar tendon attaches to tibia.1 This inflammation tends to cause pain and restricts activities that children normally like to do like playing, hopping, jumping. The symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter are most predominant during growth spurts when there are significant changes occurring in the tendons, bones, and muscles simultaneously. During these times, any increase in activity like playing, jumping, running puts increased stress on the kneecap and causes more pain and prevents such children from partaking in any athletic activity or other games which puts excessive stress on the knees. Usually children who are active and are involved in sporting activities mostly get affected with Osgood-Schlatter, although less active children may also at times have this problem.
The mainstay of treatment for Osgood-Schlatter is simple rest and taking over the counter pain medications along with aggressive stretching and strengthening exercises till the time the symptoms abate and allows the child to go back to regular activities.
How Long Does It Take For Osgood Schlatter To Go Away?
Majority of the symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter tend to go away once the child stops growing. This happens usually when the child attains puberty, which is around age 14 for girls and age 16 for boys when the Osgood-Schlatter often goes away. However, till the child attains puberty he or she will need to restrict activities that may put excessive strain on the knees and cause pain due to Osgood Schlatter. Even after attaining puberty some children may have a visible bump as a remnant of Osgood Schlatter disease, even though there will be no pain. Once the symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter resolve, then the child will have to do aggressive stretching and strengthening in order to heal the knee.
A knee brace may also be of value in helping with the symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter. In some cases, the symptoms of Osgood-Schlatter may linger on till adulthood, but such cases are rare.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Osgood-Schlatter is a musculoskeletal condition seen in children where there is inflammation around the kneecap which results in pain and restriction of activities. The symptoms of this condition usually flare during the time of growth spurts. Osgood-Schlatter tend to go away or resolve when the child attains puberty, which is around age 14 for girls and 16 for boys and thus it takes for a child to attain puberty before you get rid of Osgood-Schlatter for good.
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