Osgood-Schlatter disease is irritation of the growth plate where the patellar tendon attaches to the tibial tuberosity, seen in active children during growth spurts. It is self-limited and usually resolves when growth ends.
Key symptoms
- Pain just below the kneecap
- Worse with running, jumping, kneeling or climbing stairs
- A bony bump below the knee
- Most often in active children aged 10 to 15
What you find on exam
- Tender, swollen tibial tuberosity
- Pain with resisted knee extension
- Normal knee joint with no effusion
- Tight quadriceps and hamstrings
Tests
- Diagnosis is clinical
- Knee X-ray only if one-sided with atypical features, to rule out fracture or tumor
- X-ray may show fragmentation of the tuberosity
Treatment basics
- Activity changes and rest from painful sports
- Ice and NSAIDs after activity
- Quadriceps and hamstring stretching
- Knee pad or patellar strap
Red flags
- Night pain or pain at rest
- Joint swelling, fever or inability to bear weight
- Sudden pain while jumping (tibial tubercle avulsion)
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Sources: NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; NBOME COMLEX-USA clinical presentations; AAMC Core Entrustable Professional Activities (Core EPAs). Written by Making Synapses. Making Synapses is not affiliated with these organizations.