I was diagnosed with this as well when I was 11 or 12. Mine was brought on by being a catcher in Little Leage. The constant squating behind the plate caused the tibia to grow abnormally, and create friction where there wasn't supposed to be any. They would get swollen and very sore. If it's caught early enough, and the offending activity is curtailed, there won't be any lasting damage to the area. In my case, I was just moved from playing catcher to third base, and the only lasting result is a couple of bumps underneath my patella. My knees still aren't too keen on squatting, and will get sore if I do for any extended time, but are fine otherwise.

This is just my experience...I was only 11 or 12 when it was diagnosed.

PT chiming in here with both personal and professional experience. Often OSD develops due to a growth spurt with increased stress from the patellar tendon on it's insertion at the tibial tuberosity. For management of symptoms, NSAIDS and ice massage are relatively effective. For treatment, stretching is probably most critical, with particular focus on the hamstrings, hip flexors, and quads. (Especially hamstrings). Bike fit could play a role in this if the tibia is too far forward on the down stroke. As he's growing, his bike fit could theoretically change every few months, so that is something to consider. As he's a cyclist, some strength work (aka: therapy! I'm not getting into the whole strength training for cycling thing) in his case would probably be beneficial. Particularly single leg deadlifts to strengthen glutes and hamstrings. Split squats, progressing into reverse lunges, progressing into rearfoot elevated split squats would also be helpful (only if he can do them pain free). YouTube videos of those exercises for proper demonstration. Nothing heavy with the lifting, more to work on proper motor development.

The strength stuff is all secondary, as at this stage it should be stretching (esp hamstrings), stretching, and icing.

Also had it when I was that age. I was playing a lot of soccer then and had to ice after every practice and game. Didn't hurt till after so I didn't really care and icing worked for me. But as of late, I've been having knee pain which turned out to be calium in my knee and went back to the same doctor. Said the calcium was a result of the disease and surgery was necessary to remove it. He also said about 10% of all young kids that have asgood-schlatter have calcium build up in their knee and if they are still active when older they get this procedure. Totally worth pushing through it, didnt cause any horrible damage, I liked soccer, ad the procedure was relatively painless.

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I can't comment on treatment etc., but I do have a personal experience of very successful recovery. I never had this myself, but my far-more-talented brother had it when he was 12 or 13. Mostly from running. He spent around 6 weeks in a full leg cast, and was pretty frustrated to miss most of a track season. But after returning, he never had any issues again. He later went on to run a 4:03 mile and played semi-pro rugby. OSD is a bump in the road, but not a long-term set back.

+1 Absolutely...it never prevented me from participating in any sport or activity.

Also had this around the same age, also didn't keep me from running track, although it did cause me not to do hurdling until later in high school (not sure if that was really necessary or not.) But I will say this: my left leg (where I had the OSD) is visually less developed than my right, especially the quad muscles (VMO) around the knee. I think I favored this knee as an adolescent and never addressed it. I have made some progress as an adult, but I'd echo the PT who suggested some kind of therapy/strength training. I think if I'd addressed this with good strength training as an adolescent/teenager, it would have prevented some of the knee issues/injuries I developed later in life.

I had this really bad as a youth and once had to be (almost) carried off the football pitch (soccer whatever).

From what I can recall I used to rest, the pain would subside, then go again and it would be back. Basically I was told that it is the bone which is growing faster than the muscles, thus there is greater tension in your quads, which pulls away the from the bone on the fibula.

I went through a whole array of different treatments. First we had strapping it just beneath the knee to reduce tension (didn't really work). Then massage (painful and didn't really work). Then ultrasound therapy (didn't really work). Finally I had a few sessions of acupuncture which did alleviate the pain (but it might be that I stopped growing).

My honest advice would be to take a break/ reduce the current training. This will last for a year tops in my experience. Take up swimming. But it is only temporary. I hated this but I'm fine now so all good

I was also diagnosed with OSD when I was 11 or 12 playing alot of soccer. My knee was constantly sore from all the running. It never stopped me from sports though. I can't remember any knee issues since around that age though... it basically went away. I'm 33 now, and for the last 2 years have been running 30+ miles a week and biking 100 miles a week and have absolutely no knee issues whatsoever. I think it goes away once you've stopped growing. Like was said before, OSD is a bump in the road IMO too.

Both my boys got it, most pronounced during Judo and both gave up Judo due to the pain. It took the 16yo about a year to recover and about 6 months for the 14yo. They both got it at 15 and 14 respectively.

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Was diagnosed when i was 13 and am now 22. As a competitive soccer player i had a lot of issue with this. When i got around 20-21 it started to lessen, i still have a huge bump but rarely have pain anymore. I just remember having to ice a lot and take itme off. Interestingly, the main movements that caused pain were quick explosive movements. Any type of pounding, especially jumping in basketball wrecked havoc on my knees in high school. To be honest for many sports i would just play through the pain as there are not too many dangers unless it gets really bad from what i have heard.

Running normally did not cause too many problems, and soccer was not too bad either as it was on grass.

I also had some issues with OSD when I was around 13. I played competitive soccer for about 5 years leading up to it. One day I went to get out of the the car before a game and could barely walk. Went to the doctor the next day and ended up having a cast put on for 5 weeks. It took a while to get back to playing again, about 8 months, but it has not bothered me since.

It is actually an inflammation of the growth plate under and the bone of the tibial tubercle (where the patellar tendon attaches.) It is common at that age. It resolves when growth of the cartilaginous growth plate closes. It is almost never casted or immobilized anymore, but can require rest if it is too painful.

I agree with the PT that bike fit might be an issue as these kids can be growing REALLY fast. Are his pants suddenly NOT dragging on the floor? His saddle needs to be pretty high and he should avoid low cadence, high force pedalling. If it is this painful, some rest, initially and strength training, later, can help, but any quad work should limit the knee flexion as the stress on the patella and patellar tendon are many times higher at 90deg than 45deg. A good PT can help to keep his strength up and help him prevent more inflammation.

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Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

Thanks for all the responses. We decided no riding for the next two weeks. PT told us to use a brace and lots of ice and then re-evaluate at the next appt in two weeks. Son is kinda of bummed with the season starting next weekend but I would rather be sure it's not something too serous before he starts riding again.

Tom V

As a physiotherapist I have treated this often in the younger male set. yes it does run it's course, however PT can have good effect .
Soft tissue techniques to the patellar tendon, quad, ITB, behind the knee. Sometimes Laser can help as a modality. There are also good straps for OS you can get to spread out the surface area and dissipate the forces. It also comes down to not aggravating the area if training is too intense.
I have had good results with patients who follow the protocol and also try to do some quad/ hip/ core strength in a closed chain pattern (i.e. leg press, single leg squats, lunge etc as long as it is not aggravating to it afterwards. It also depends on the stage of the injury

Impressed on your course of action; I had it from soccer and had to stand down for a few weeks as well. Am totally fine / active now, but I have pretty ugly knees. :) Best of luck!

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Endurance Nation Camps

Had it as a youngster in grade school/early high school from playing soccer and sports that require rapid change of direction while running. Now like most people who responded have a serious bump on one knee, but it really doesn't bother me.

My son has gone through a mild case of it. No surprise as he grew about 5 - 6 in in just over a year!! Plays rep/club level soccer and basketball. When it was at it's worst he stayed away from soccer for about a month and then used pain as a guide - if it got sore in a practice or a game he would sit out the rest of the game or practice. Ice and stretching suggested by PT that he saw at the time. Coaches of both soccer and basketball teams were understanding. One other kid on the soccer team had it at the same time.

He's much better now. Growth has slowed down quite a bit. Only get's achey now if he has a hard practice/game and then has to sit with knees bent for extended period right after.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I was a soccer player when I had it. It was diagnosed as having weak glutes and hips which lead to overuse of the quad which caused the knee pain. A few simple strengthening exercises and I was quickly back to 100%.

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I had it as a kid. Played through it as best as possible. It felt debillitating at times but sometimes when it hurts to walk you can still run. I can't remember not having knee pain but had a successful athletic career (college scholarship for lacrosse - many years of post college rugby and lacrosse, some decent running, cycling and tri-results, 3 time Kona qualifier etc...) Now, at 44 I have patellar femoral articular cartillage defects that have me virtually sidelined and headed for double TKR. I can't run and I miss it.

It makes sense to me that the Osgoods and PF issues are related. I wonder if a doc can answer that. My point being that I wonder if I'd be running into my 80s instead of my 40s if some fantastic coach had put me in a pool for the couple of years where I was growing like a weed?

Then again, if the kid's got the mindset to be any good he's probably going to push it no matter what you tell him! Good luck to him. Seems to me that at 12 he aught be on a BMX bike doing short stuff and getting skills.

Well at 12 he already has some ugly knees! Scars everywhere, Doesn't have video games and not much TV so when he can find some other kids whose parents aren't a little overprotective he spends allot of time playing in woods, digging forts, etc. Comes home covered in dirt and scratches everywhere. Of course a couple of bike crashes and the warts that it took them three times to cut off the other knee add a few more scars. The physician we normally see just shakes his head when we come in.

He has played most the sports you would think of (Football, Basketball, Lacrosse, Soccer, Baseball, Swimming) but he and his little sister started doing kids Tri's a couple of years ago and seemed to really like it. Had his mountain bike stolen at one of tri's so we replaced it with a road bike and just kind of morphed into road racing as he seemed to really like cycling. He has some attention issues, I have read some articles about kids leaning more towards sports like cycling and swimming so maybe it's a little self medicating for him.

Your sunk. Sounds like the boy is going to go hard no matter what you do. You'll probably have to sit back, do your best to encourage moderation until he's done growing and let him have at it. Maybe you could steal his big chainring to keep him from pushing big gears and grinding up his PF area. Good luck and thank goodness you've got a kid who wants to do too much and not too little.

Had it when i was around 12. I was playing catcher for a few baseball teams. I never took any time off but it hurt like hell and looked like i had a second knee cap. Sensitivity and pain gradually went away but the bump never did...

docfuel and fedor 123 give you what you need to know, but each patient is different as some last weeks, and some are symptomatic for months to years. In my experience, the best "cure" is rest and the passage of time. The bump, as you've seen, will likely persist into adulthood but unless occupational plans are for him to be a priest or a muffler mechanic, the effect will be more cosmetic than functional.

John

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John H. Post, III, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
Charlottesville, VA