How To Diagnose Osgood Schlatter & What Is The Best Medicine For It?

Osgood Schlatter disease causes a painful and bony bump just below one’s knee or on one’s shinbone. The problem often takes place in adolescents and children, who often experience growth spurts at the time of entering puberty.

Doctors often recommend you for the diagnose of Osgood Schlatter disease according to underlying symptoms and other aspects, which include-

• Your age or the age of your child
• Sports and other physical activities, which may affect the condition

Besides, diagnosis also involves ruling out fracture and other health conditions.⁽³⁾

Details On Procedures To Conduct Osgood Schlatter Diagnosis

To diagnose the problem of Osgood Schlatter, doctors mainly recommend for two major types of examinations in patients. These include the following-

Physical Examination: During the physical examination phase, doctors check the condition of an infected child’s knee to check any problem in it. These include pain, swelling, tenderness, and redness. If a child experiences any one or a combination of the mentioned discomforts, doctors may recommend for further examination in the form of skeletal X-ray or bone X-ray examination.

Bone X-Ray Or Skeletal X-Ray Examination: Skeletal X-ray or bone X-ray checks the bones of your leg and knee to examine the affected area closely i.e. the area where your kneecap tendon attaches to your shinbone. Doctors mainly recommend such tests after an accident, fall or any physical trauma. Especially, this type of X-ray is recommendable if an affected person shows any sign or symptom related to swelling and pain, along with other related conditions. These are arthritis, cancer spreading to bones or bone cancer, infections, fractures, osteoporosis, and Osgood Schlatter.⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾

In most of the cases, doctors recommend for the application of the following over the counter pain relievers or medications to relieve pain, tenderness, and swelling associated with Osgood Schlatter. These are as follows-

• Tylenol and other similar types of acetaminophen medications
• Motrin IB, Advil, Motrin for children, along with other ibuprofen types of medications
• Aleve and other similar types of naproxen sodium.⁽⁶⁾

The problem mainly takes place in children taking part in various types of sports, which involve jumping and running activities. Besides, the problem is common in children involving in activities, which require swift direction changes, like basketball, soccer, ballet, and figure skating. Even though the condition was common among boys, now many girls involved in various sports activities affect Osgood Schlatter.

Osgood Schlatter mainly takes place in boys from 12 years to 14 years age, while girls from only 10 years to 13 years of age. The difference is that girls enter the phase of puberty early as compared to boys. The condition resolves on own once the bone of a child stops growing.⁽¹⁾

Common symptoms associated with the disease of Osgood Schlatter are-

• Leg or knee pain
• Tenderness, swelling, and increase in warmth below your knees and on your shinbone
• Worsening of the with running, exercise and other highly intensive activities
• Limping after you perform any physical activity

Severity associated with the symptoms of Osgood Schlatter varies among people. A few of the people deal with only mild pain after performing specific activities. However, others experience consistent and debilitating pain, which makes doing any physical activity a challenging task. The discomfort may last from only a few weeks to about several years, while the symptoms often go away once the adolescent growth spurt completes.⁽¹⁾

Conclusion

To conclude, we should say that the diagnosis of Osgood Schlatter disease depends on certain factors and in most cases, doctors recommend physical examination followed by skeletal X-ray examination. Other than this, if we talk about medications, doctors suggest intaking various over-the-counter medications to manage the underlying symptoms and the entire condition of Osgood Schlatter.

References:

Also Read:

• Are Knee Braces Of Any Help For Osgood-Schlatter?
• What is Osgood-Schlatter Disease, Know its Symptoms, Treatment
• How Long Does It Take For Osgood Schlatter To Go Away?
• Can Osgood Schlatter Cause Problems Later In Life & Does It Require Surgery?
• Can You Play Sports With Osgood Schlatter Disease & Coping Methods For It?
• Does A Knee Brace Help Osgood Schlatter & Can You Squat When You Have It?
• Is Osgood Schlatter Disease Genetic & Does Osgood Schlatter’s Mean I Am Still Growing?