Osgood Schlatters Disease


Anyone else here got it or know how to treat it?

I’ve had it since I was 14, in both legs. I’m 19 now, but the bump is still there.

It aches after everything-squatting, running, walking, jerking off…

I stopped taking glucosamine a while ago but am thinking about starting up again. Also, I have to two knee braces ( Strip that goes directly over the bump).

I don’t want to give up my leg workouts at all, but it’s killing me.

-Nate

When I was younger I was diagnosed with this and it got better over time. The Doctor at the time told me to strech my quads and that would help aleviate the pain.

Nate,

I’ll write more later, but the strip should go a little above the bump, not on top of it.

Place it over the tendon between the knee-cap and the bump.

Ice the area down after activities. Make sure the knee is bent and not straight when you do this.

Depending on the severity can usually continue activity although some modification will probably be necessary.

How about listing what your normal training week looks like. (No need to list jerking off, I’ll just figure that you do it 3-4 times/day :slight_smile:

Ryan

I had it as well and it went away with time.

I was also diagnosed with this when I was younger, and still have problems at the age of 24.

I always have to evaluate whether or not my knee will allow squats, and I never run…though I probably wouldn’t even if it was pain free.

I started seeing a massage therapist who is awesome with myofascial release about 6-8 months ago. All associated pain immediately diminished.

I went initially once per week for a month, then twice per month, then once a month, and now I go every two months. If I wait too long (as I did about two weeks ago), then the pain screws with me again.

I believe that I could go for much longer periods of time if I did a little bit of work on my own in between sessions (certain types of stretching, foam rolling, etc.), but I just don’t…lazy.

Anyway, that (myofascial release) has been a godsend for me. I see that you are only 19, so footing the bill for some massage may not be realistic, but it also may be what you are looking for.

Hope that helps,
Tucker

Thanks everyone so far.

Dr Ryan,

My training week right now consists of this:

Day One

10x3 Full Back Squats (Deep!)
4x6 Barbell Bench
4x6 Bent Over Rows
4x6 Close Grip Supinated Chins
4x6 Roman Dumbbell Deadlifts

Day Two

10x3 Incline Dumbbell Bench
4x6 Hack Squats
4x6 Wide Grip Military Press
4x6 Weighted Dips
4x6 Cable Rows

Day Three

10x3 Wide Pronated Grip Chins
4x6 Full Back Squats
4x6 Decline Barbell Bench
4x6 Barbell Deads
4x6 Skull Crushers

I usually switch it up quite a bit, but that gives you an overall evaluation of what I’m doing. I usually play basketball once or twice a week. Nothing too competitive just a little 3 on 3 half court.

The problem started right at the end of middle school. I was extremely active (non weightlifting). I had to sit out an entire b-ball season, and never really got back into it.

They’re not sore to the touch like the once were, but after any type of activity they ache extremely bad. I find it hard to get “loose” and warmed up as well before starting.

And you’re right…I do jerk off 3 times a day.

Thanks.

Nate

PS. Not sure if this would help at all, but I have a full-body picture of myself in the “Physique Forum”. The thread is entitled “Nate Green.”

It may be a bit grainy, but mabye it will help.

Good luck with your condition. I was diagnosed with this in grade school. Here are some of my thoughts.

While taking time off, hot and cold treatment, and limiting the intensity of exertion alleviated my symptoms I do not feel that the cause was diagnosed. Based purely on my own observations I think that I was placing too much weight on the balls of my feet and not activating my glutes and lower back enough. Even when walking I tended to keep my weight forward. I sort of bounced along instead of pulling myself. I had the feeling at the time that it was easier to push me backward than other people. My first reactive motion forward was a gathering of myself, or a hesitation.

At the time I failed to define this action but my vertical leap was impressive so I ignored the problem and concentrated on what I could do well. I did a disservice to myself by not being in tune with my own biomechanics but it is difficult to recognize an issue that has always been incorrect.

In time I developed a capacity to tolerate the discomfort but prematurely wore my meniscus and skeletal cartilage. It should be mentioned that I had a nerve damaging natal spine surgery in addition to wear and tear issues, but I feel the cause of the Osgood problem was related to my motor recruitment and led to tightness in my posterior chain.

Squat down. Take notice of comfort, balance, heels coming off the ground, tightness in the hip and lower back, and shakiness. Does your balance noticeably improves when you have a barbell with weight on your back but you still feel like you will fall backwards if you straighten your back while keeping your shoulders opened. Regardless of how you hold the barbell doing a front squat do you feel that you never get all your force into the movement because of your balance, hips being out of alignment, and or lower back miscues.

When jumping do you use your glutes and hamstrings much or just your quads. Take notice of your landing with regards to absorbing the impact with a good knee bend and back posture. I noticed that I was landing sort of straight legged and with minimal knee bending and absorbing the landing by bending at the waist too much because my balance was off.

I also kept all my weight on my toes and jumped almost solely by quadriceps contraction. I think keeping all the weight forward might allow for quicker rebounding but it aggravates and wears the knee joint.

If these are problems that you observe then I would recommend getting your glutes, hams, and lower back conditioned to aid in jumping and squatting. It still feels awkward for me to jump and land correctly but I am trying to make it a habit as I feel that it saves my joints.

An exercise that works for me is to stand up straight about one foot from a wall, feet together, lean back and make contact with the wall. Slide down to just before 90 degrees. Maintain contact with your butt and shoulders, while trying to keep your back straight and in contact also. Now take you arms out to your sides making a T with your upper body and keep your shoulders against the wall in addition to your arms and hands. Try to retract your shoulders blades without activating your traps while maintain contact with the wall. Hold in this position for about a minute while concentrating on activating your glutes and lower back, not quads. Alternate from pushing back against the wall with your butt to pushing up more. Now slide down a couple inches against the wall and hold again. And again a few inches lower.

I think that Eric Cressey included this in his Neanderthal No More article with pictures. I use this to get my motor patterns working before jumping or bounding. Do a search for a diagram of a Psoas muscle stretch and try it. I would suggest that you read some of the many articles here addressing lack of flexibility and then concentrate on deads and good mornings, and properly executed depth jumps as your condition allows.
Enough already, good luck.

Nate,

PM me your email address and I will send you a couple articles about Osgood Schlatters.

The only thing I’m concerned abut is the length of time you have been dealing with the problem. Usually it clears up after a couple years. Are you still growing much?

What kind of treatment have you done and what areyou currentl doing to address the problem?

Just to add to what Dr. Ryan has said, I’ve heard from numerous individuals that some cases of OS respond quite well to ART.