Overuse problems of the knee :

Osgood Schlatters - - Posted by bball_jas (bball_jas), 22 December 2003

Hey

I'm 15 years old (16 in march) and have had Osgood Schlatters since Febuary 21st 2003. I first felt the pain at an all day basketball tournament. I first thought it was my new basketball boots the Nike Shox VC2's;
Check here to see a pic - http://www.kicksology.net/reviews/nike/shoxvcii.html

Thinking that the pain was due to my new boots and their 'Shox' technology i got rid of them. The pain is still with me tohugh to this day and I have been told that it is Osgood Schlatters.

I played through the pain until October 03 when I decided to rest for about 2months.
Halfway through this month (Dec.) I decided to play. The first few times I played I felt nothing, they felt a bit sore afterwards but that was it. I continued to play until the other day when my knee's started to hurt.
I have decided to rest til January while doing my exercises the physio gave me at least twice a day. (Before the xmas holidays i could only do them once as they took 20mins each and i did not have a lot of time).

I have important basketball trials coming up around April/May and I really want to get rid of it before then.
Has anyone got any tips that could help me?

I heard eating lots of potatoes and drinking  lots of milk help? is this true, if not whats foods do?

Are there any vitamins that would have an impact?

Would lifting weights help? If so what sort of weights and how?

Please, any help or experiances would be really helpful.

Also has anyone ever come across a website truely dedicated to osgood schlatters? I have searched the webo ver and over and never found ones apart from those advertising products. Does anyone know if this works on - http://www.osgood-schlatter.com/

Please, any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Posted by rt11 (rt11), 29 December 2003

you are not alone. http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/cgi-bin/KNEEtalk/YaBB.pl?board=1;action=display;num=1072637909




Posted by windbarb (windbarb), 29 December 2003

Greetings!

Just to make sure... have you gone to an orthopedic surgeon (OS) to confirm the diagnosis of Osgood Schlatters Disease (OSD)?  The OS will have the best information, especially if it's someone who specializes in athletes.  He should refer you to a physical therapist, or at least give you some ideas for what to do when the knee is acting up.

I had OSD starting at age 11... my OS had never seen such a bad case, especially not in a girl, and I don't think they really knew how to treat it when I had it.  I think the best thing to do is to rest it when it's flaring up ... I know that's hard to do when you want to be active and play basketball, but it's the best idea.  At the same time, get your hands on some exercises for your quads from your OS or physical therapist and keep them strong (straight leg lifts with light weights, for example).  Ice the knee if it's acting up, and take Advil (ibuprofen) or Aleve (naproxen sodium) with food.  

There are no magic foods, drinks, or vitamins to help it out.

Unfortunately, you don't really "get rid" of OSD.  It will stay with you as long as you are growing (I had symptoms until I was about 14-15, when I stopped growing), and you probably have a couple more years left in you to deal with it.  The best you can do is to learn to treat it.  If you're good to your knee, you should be able to compete in the basketball trials this spring.

If you ever find a board or website dedicated to OSD, please post the address here... there are lots of people who would love to find it, too!  (I'd really be interested in seeing a posting or board on adults who had OSD as teens and their effects down the road.)

Good luck, and keep us posted here.  As the person above me said, you are not alone.

Cheers,
Barb
Posted by bball_jas (bball_jas), 4 January 2004

Thanks for the replys.

Does anyone advise lifting weights to streghen my quads? If so do you know any exercises that I could do at home?
Posted by bball_jas (bball_jas), 4 January 2004

Also I want to start jump roping (skipping) to improve things like quickness, vertical jump etc.
If I started now would it just make my Osgood Schlatters worse or will it help it to improve by strenghining my legs?
Posted by windbarb (windbarb), 9 January 2004

Hey!

I think that your best bet would be to ask a physical therapist, athletic trainer, or your orthopedic surgeon for suggestions of exercises.  The best simple quad exercise is simply to lay on your back and do a straight leg lift, with weights on your ankles if you can handle it.  

I can't imagine that jumping is very friendly to a knee that's struggling with OSD.  Run that one by your physical therapist/ athletic trainer/ orthopedic surgeon, too.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Barb
Posted by bball_jas (bball_jas), 11 January 2004

Its Jan.11 and my knee's still hurt.

I dont understand how after doing all these stretches and exercises on my legs I still have OSD.
Is it htat my quad muscles are too weak?
Posted by ATsoccergirl (ATsoccergirl), 11 January 2004

I am a certified athletic trainer, If you could post what kind of exercises you are doing, I might be able to suggest some things that you could ask your physical therapist about.

Any type of plyometric activity is contraindicated in those with OSD.  As is certain lifting activities such as knee extensions.  You could look into aquatic therapy which would involve exercising in water.  Anti-inflammatory drugs would help, Ibuprofen and Naproxen were mentioned earlier, but the newer COx2 drugs are safer and much more effective.  If you haven't seen an orthopedic surgeon yet, this would be your first step.
Posted by bball_jas (bball_jas), 12 January 2004

I'll try to explain the exercises as best I can;

1.The first is where I lie on my front. I lift my leg up and grab my ankle and pull it towards my ass so it streches my quads. I do this on both legs.

2.The second iwhere I lie on my back and lift my left up just above the ground and hold it, again i do this with both legs. A lot of the time i use ankle weights.

(My physio told me though to do one where i sit on a high table, lift my leg while keep my back arched in so my chest is out and hold. I find the other (no.2) one to strech my quads better, am I wrong?)

I hold these streches for 30 seconds each and I do each leg 10 times so it takes me around 20mins a day.
I have found that timing myself is very boring, so what I do now, is when ever i'm watching Tv i'll just strech my quads doing the following exercises for approx. 30 seconds.

These are the exercises I do everyday usually in the evening, are they wrong? should they be helping? any feedback?

Also can you tell more about this COx2 drug. It is avalible in the UK and does it have to be prescribed by a doctor or can it be bought in a chemist?

thanks
Posted by ATsoccergirl (ATsoccergirl), 13 January 2004

Stretching is important, but you should also be doing some type of strengthening.  You can try really easy stuff such as quad sets, hamstring sets, straight leg raises, calf raises, etc.  You should also be doing some low impact cardio work to stay in shape while you are not participating.  You can try biking, running in deep water, or an elliptical machine.

Any of the COX2-inhibitor drugs are only available by perscription.  The three big brand names are Bextra, Vioxx, and Celebrex.  I am fairly sure that they are available in the UK.  
Posted by bball_jas (bball_jas), 13 January 2004

Thanks.

Could you tell me how to do these exercises you mentioned?

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