Therapy
The therapy for Osgood Schlatter’s disease is usually conservative. A relief of the leg is necessary to achieve healing. If necessary, this can be supported by aids such as splints or bandages.
Sports activities should be restricted or paused. It may also be necessary to completely relieve the strain by using crutches.
- Children who suffer from overweight should try to reduce their weight.
Being overweight is a heavy burden on the joints and can promote the development of Schlatter’s disease. Symptomatically, pain and inflammation relief can be achieved by using ice and cool packs. Painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen can be used for severe pain, but should be applied in doses.
Physiotherapeutic treatment is recommended to accompany the treatment, in which the muscles of the front thigh are stretched, the rear thigh muscles are strengthened and possible incorrect posture, which places increased stress on the knee joint, is corrected. Muscular stabilization of the knee joint can counteract overloading.
- Another form of therapy is shock wave therapy. By treating the tissue with certain waves, healing is to be accelerated.
Often this therapy is financially self-supporting. In rare cases, with chronic courses, an operation is advisable. In this case free bone fragments are removed and possibly the attachment of the tendon is relocated. After a subsequent follow-up treatment, a reduction in symptoms can be expected. Surgery should only be performed after growth is complete to avoid growth disorders.
Exercises
Exercises in Osgood Schlatter’s disease are aimed on the one hand at loosening the front thigh muscles, which attach to the tibial tuberosity and can put too much strain on it.On the other hand, the aim is to ensure safe muscular stabilization of the joint in order to relieve the joint and bone. On the one hand, stretching exercises for the quadriceps femoris muscle can be used for this purpose. These can be performed in a standing, supine or lateral position.
When standing, the patient stands on a healthy leg, angles the affected leg and pulls the heel towards the buttocks. By grasping the leg at the ankle and pulling the heel further towards the buttocks, the patient increases the stretch. It is important that the groin is pushed forward during the exercise and the buttocks are tensed so that the muscles of the hip are also stretched.
The position should be held for 30 seconds. The exercise is repeated 3-4 times. Bridging is an ideal strengthening exercise for the back thigh muscles and the buttocks.
Here the buttocks are stretched from the supine position with the legs in an upright position towards the ceiling and the hip muscles are strengthened. Knee bends or machine-supported training on the leg curl or leg press can intensify and support the training. Strength exercises should be performed in about 3-4 sets of 12 repetitions.
They can be performed with demanding weights, but the weight should never be increased at the expense of quality. Between the sets a break of 1-2 minutes should be kept. Always take care to take a training break during an acute inflammation in order not to put additional strain on the tissue.
Muscular training should be carried out in stages free of inflammation. Gentle stretching can also have a soothing effect during an inflammatory phase; it should then be performed in the pain-free area. You can find more exercises for the knee joint here:
- Exercises with Morbus Osgood Schatter
- Physiotherapy exercises knee joint
- Exercises for the knee joint
