My doctor just told me that I have Osgood-Schlatter’s Disease. When you first hear it, this sounds awful, like I’m going to die in six months or something. But it turns out not to be a “disease” at all, but a condition – I’ve got extra, unwanted bone below my kneee.
The thing is, all the references and websites I’ve found on this say that it’s a condition on adolescents that goes away after they reach adulthood. I’m 46 and didn’t have this as an adolescent. And since I’ve already reached adulthood, when is it going to go away? My doctor acknowledges that it’s unusual to have it as an adult, but I can’t find any references to this as an adult condition.
I had Osgood-Schlatter Disease when I was about 15 and it had stopped causing me discomfort by 16. I seem to remember my doctor told me to avoid all sports and take it easy for about 3 months, and it cleared up all by itself. I also remember being pissed that I had to quit my football team!
I don’t think it is actually an extra bone, rather that an inflamed tendon pushes against the bone, sometimes causing it to fragment.
I believe it is usually related to growing up, but [this](http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/qa-knee/tendons.htm#Osgood-Schlatter Disease) page mentions it is caused by “repetitive stress or tension” on the growth area. Perhaps it is commonly triggered by natural growing, but can also be caused by repetitive activity on the area or even an injury?
The page just says, “The disease most commonly affects active young people, particularly boys between the ages of 10 and 15…” and doesn’t suggest it NEVER affects anyone older.
Anyway, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It didn’t cause me many problems at the time, and causes me none now I’m 23. I ran the London marathon last year with no problems so it doesn’t seem to have had a lasting affect on my ability to participate in sports either.
Good luck, I’m sure you’ll be back to yourself in no time!
P.S. The lump of bone never goes away, but it no longer hurts when pressure is applied to it.
I was also diagnosed with this at the age of 12 or 13. It was painful as hell! But I did seem to grow out of it but I don’t remember how long it took outgrow it. This is weird because I was just talking about this with my 10 year old son last night. He is suffering from similar symtoms.
Osgood-Schlatter disease is a disease of adolesecents. However, the sequalae can persist into adult life, i.e. an unusually placed “bone” in the knee tendon (so-called heterotopic calcification). This FAQ discusses the issue in adults, briefly (look at the bottom). This site from Johns Hopkins is nicely illustrated.
I’d suggest seeing an orthopod before making any major treatment decisions.
My point is that AFAIK, I never had this as an adolescent. I’ve only started feeling the bony extension and random pain recently. So it’s not a case of a teenage condition extending into adult life, it’s a ase of an adult contracting a teenaged condition – as if I suddenly came down with a massive case of acne.
I had assumed that in your (stoic) youth, you had suffered from the condition without being aware of it. Were you an athletic, very physically active lad?
BTW, Here is an abstract that at least talks about O-S disease in adults. Frankly, it’s relatively useless but it does confirm that the problem can extend into adulthood.
[sub][sup]Disclaimer: The opinions contained herein are those of a mere endocrinologist/internist. Any resemblence to a person knowledgeable in orthopedics is purely coincidental.[/sup][/sub]
Look at the bright side. At least you don’t have George Schlatter’s disease, which causes brightly colored sayings like “Sock It To Me” and “Look That Up in Your Funk & Wagnall’s” to appear all over your body.
Thanks for the link. I was (and still am) athletic without being conspicuously so, but I don’t recall any of the signs of O-S as a kid. Only over the past few years. I think it’s all recent.
In your link, it seems to imply that surgery is required;
When I was in my 40’s (I’m 64 now), a doctor looked at the lump below my right knee and said I had OS, and asked me if I had any pain there when I was a child. I never did, and never even realized I had it until that doctor pointed it out. I never even realized that I had an unnormal bone growth there. I never had pain at the knee. I used to play softball when I was a child and did a lot of sliding on my right knee. I think that’s how it developed.
The point I’m trying to make is that you may have had this as a teenager but just never knew it before. But it is strange that you have begun to feel pain recently. Perhaps it’s psychosomatic. If the doctor didn’t tell you you had it, you may not have any pain there.
I have/had O-S; developed it after badly twisting my knee when I was about eleven. It didn’t cause me many problems until a few years later, and then it got worse to the point where I spent a lot of time walking with a cane.
There are a number of ways to encourage Osgood-Schlatter’s to go away; I know because I tried 'em all. Rest, anti-inflams, physical therapy, immobilization, etc etc etc. Unfortunately, it refused to go away, and it was making me unable to learn to drive, or to take any job involving being on my feet, so I ended up having surgery for it three years ago.
On the bright side, cases like mine are fairly rare – in thirty years practicing, my orthopedic surgeon had never had to operate on O-S until he operated on me. And the surgery was quite successful – painful recovery, but I no longer need my cane and my knee only hurts when the weather’s changing.
Just watch out for that lump. It’s real easy to bang it on stuff, and holy crap it hurts when you hit it.
How sure are you that it IS O-S? I don’t know much about it, but my sister was “diagnosed” with it when she was 14, after having pain after playing sports (she was playing school soccer, basketball, badminton, all at once). Then they said it wasn’t O-S, but bursitis (or the other way around - I forget which came first). In the meantime, the pain extended to her ankles and feet, and her legs swelled up to 2 to 3 times their size. She couldn’t walk, and would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, because she couldn’t roll over in bed. And the Doctors told her to wait it out and just gave her pain relievers, because they didn’t want to do surgery unless it was absolutely necessary. After about a year and a half (and several doctors), it took a specialist to diagnose her with a form of juvenile arthritis that is actually quite rare. She’s been on Vioxx ever since, and basically needs it in order to be able to move her legs (although she SHOULD be doing physio too - she walks like a crooked old woman and she’s only 18).
The point is, that O-S seems to be a fairly common diagnosis for this kind of stuff, but sometimes there is something else going on too. Did you get a second opinion? Rule arthritis or something else out? I just wouldn’t want it to get worse while they put you on the wrong meds…and unneccesary surgery would suck, too.
What Mnemosyne said. Sometimes it seems like you go in and say, “Weird bump on knee that hurts” and the doc just automatically sez, “Osgood Schlatters”. One more vote here for “get a second opinion”. Also, you might consult a “sports medicine” guy to see if exercise and therapy can help. All I hear about orthopedic surgery is that it’s a real mess, sometimes just makes things worse, to be avoided if possible, if you can get by with a knee brace and cutting back on shooting baskets.
Bonzo had O-S, but then he’s only 15. We did the “knee brace and exercise” thing for six months, and he grew some, and it’s better now. The exercises really do work, but you have to DO them.
And I learned a lot of stuff about orthopedics and sports medicine that I didn’t know. Thank God for the Internet.
There’s a lot of stuff on knee problems on the Web filed under “ski”–“ski injuries”, “ski therapy”, etc.
I was diagnosed with O-S when I was about 13 or 14. The doctor said I would grow out of it.
Well, I’m 44 now. Still have it. A mean little knot below my left knee.
I played football, ran track, ran marathons and now I chase kids. It doesn’t really bother me unless it gets bumped. My knot has the added attraction of a vein running across it, so anytime it gets bumped, I have to put the ice on quickly to avoid big-time swelling.
I couldn’t do weight lifts on my left leg because of it, but I could do presses, although my right leg did most of the work. It never bothered me in running.
I just learned to live with it and live with it still. Every once in a while, and I mean maybe once in a year, my left leg will buckle without warning. For me, I wouldn’t have surgery at this stage in the game, but I’m not as active as I used to be.
I’m a bit worried about my seven-year-old daughter, though, because her left leg will also give out on occasion. I hope she didn’t inherit.
One final note: I’ve never met anyone else who has this. Another reason I love this board.
I’ve never had it, but both my sons do. Knocked both of them out of high school sports. Oldest is now 21 and doesn’t seem affected anymore, but youngest (17 next month) has had it since he was 14 and it seems to be bothering him more and more, even though he hasn’t done sports since his freshman year.
But, like I said, I never had it. My big sports ailment was/is my elbows, especially my right elbow. I’ve got “double joints” in my right elbow. But none of our kids have problems with their elbows. So I don’t think these things are always genetic/inherited.
I researched this topic extensively and I found this to be the most knowledgeable answer. The link is posted above. ^ ^ ^
"Adult Osgood-Schlatter"
What you may be suffering from are the aftereffects of Osgood-Schlatter Disease. OSD can only occur (by definition) while growth is still occurring, and the bones are still porous and vascular. You yourself may, or may not be still actively growing bone length. However the bone-spur-like “bump” formed on the tibial tuberosity during the course of the disease can impinge on nerves and other tissues long after growth has been completed. Oscon can help in adulthood if the problem is due to local inflammatory conditions. Oscon works like a “magic bullet” in adolescents before the growth plates have closed, while the bone is more cartilaginous. It appears to provide exactly what the teenage body needs to heal itself, and works well over 95% of the time. Oscon may help reduce the inflammation in your case, but it will not eliminate any “mechanical problems” caused by the bony bump that is the signature of OSD. I wish I could point you in the direction of a 100% sure remedy, but in adults it is a bit more problematic. This is what I would suggest as the most likely to succeed:Oscon, 1 bottle. If it is going to solve the problem you will begin to see improvement within a week. Once healed, it can be discontinued.A Medium OS Strap. Probably the L/XL size for adults. The OS Strap’s pad should be worn “upside down” between the top of the tibial “bump”, and the kneecap. It will look like this from the inside front. The OS Strap not only helps protect the “bump”, but it also puts gentle positioning pressure on the patellar tendon above it with its silicone rubber pad. The strap should be worn when active, or when contact with the sore “bump” is likely.Think of it like this:
If you stick a piece of masking tape on the wall vertically, and then pull up with your hand against the wall, there is a lot less “pulling out” force than if your hand is away from the wall, and there is more of an angle. The sleeve’s strap helps to position the patellar tendon more vertically, and keep it more parallel to the tibia. This reduces angular tension, separation and resultant pain and injury. I have two “OS bumps” myself, at the age of 63, but they are not a usually a problem. On the other hand, I have bumped both “knots” on my bicycle over the last year, and the most recently injured one was swollen and tender for quite a while. I also hear from several people each month that are in the same position as you are, so I know that there are many who continue to have significant pain long after the OSD has gone. Some think that as many as 60% of those that have had OSD suffer from pain and discomfort as adults, especially when kneeling. Most however unlike yourself, are not seriously affected.If the Oscon and Strap do not solve the problem, your best bet is probably a good orthopedic specialist, sports medicine specialist or possibly a neurologist. RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) is not going to help much at this point.Also, I myself take Oscon every day as my Vitamin E supplement and although I do get some benefit from it, I still seem to grow more of an osteophytic mass (bone spur) every time I injure the old OSD area. It appears to be susceptible to “bone bruises”. However, they do not normally interfere with physical activity. I do not like to kneel on hard surfaces though!If you do extensive working out with weights or other anaerobic exercise, you may well find that the Oscon eliminates most of the typical soreness by reducing muscle inflammation during rebuilding.
