Osgood-Schlatter disease is a type of repetitive strain injury. As the name suggests, repetitive strain injuries are caused by doing the same motion or activity repeatedly until it starts to hurt your body. Osgood-Schlatter disease is a common cause of knee pain in growing adolescents.

Understanding the Context

It is an inflammation of the area just below the knee where the tendon from the kneecap (patellar tendon) attaches to the shinbone (tibia). What is Osgood-Schlatter disease? Osgood-Schlatter disease is a common, temporary condition in which there is irritation and inflammation of the patellar tendon where it attaches to the tibia (lower leg). It typically causes knee pain in older children and teenagers, especially those who play sports and apply excessive stress to ...

Key Insights

In other words, Osgood–Schlatter disease is an overuse injury and closely related to the physical activity of the child. It was shown that children who actively participate in sports are affected more frequently as compared with non-participants. Osgood-Schlatter disease, also known as osteochondritis of the tibial tubercle, was first described in 1903 [1,2]. It is a traction apophysitis of the proximal tibial tubercle at the insertion of the patellar tendon. Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD) is swelling and irritation of the growth plate at the top of the shinbone.

Final Thoughts

A growth plate is a layer of cartilage near the end of a bone where most of the bone's growth happens. It is weaker and more at risk for injury than the rest of the bone. Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD), or osteochondrosis, or tibial tubercle apophysitis, or traction apophysitis of the tibial tubercle, is a common cause of anterior knee pain in the skeletally immature athletic population. Osgood-Schlatter’s disease (tibial tubercle apophysitis) is a form of knee pain found in growing children. The pain is over a bump of bone in the front of the knee called the tibial tubercle. Osgood-Schlatter disease is a condition that causes swelling and pain just below the knee.

It is most common in teenagers who play sport. It is not serious and usually goes away in time. Osgood Schlatter disease is the inflammation of the tibial tubercle, right below the patella. It is prevalent in athletic adolescents experiencing growth plate maturation due to puberty.