Osgood schlatters - help!!!

[Gym mum UK]

Hi there

My daughter - aged 11 - has been diagnosed with Osgood schlatters. Are there any success stories out there?

Her knees are really sore and there are big protrusions out of the top of her shins (both legs). It is supposed to relate to a growth spurt and particularly afflicts this age group of girls (boys sometime later).

I would like to hear from anybody that has lived through this or had to give up gym because of it.

Many thanks

[lannamavity]

As a coach, I have dealt with this more than a few times.

Sadly, the pain took at least one girl out of the sport pretty quickly.

The best bet is to find a therapy regiment which works for your daughter.

Regular icing and reduced pounding/irritation can help. Pain medication can also help.

Realistic expectations during times of increased pain can be agreed upon by coach and gymnast.

I've never seen any success with knee-supports or tape jobs...but that doesn't mean it can't work.

She can get through it...and it will stop eventually. Good luck.

[LasswadeCoach]

One of my top gymnasts (now aged 17) had ozgoods when she was growing from aged 10-14. It really depends on how much pain the child can take, and how much they want it. The gymnast i coached wore a knee support, and worked straight through the pain, however she was a very determined character, it really does depend on the personality and pain thresh hold of each particular gymnast. Ozgoods cannot be corrected, but regular icing helps. If it is too sore be careful not to allow the gymnast to push themselves too far, as this can cause lasting damage in some rare cases. If your daughter does continue in the sport the ozgoods will be away when she stops growing.

I wish you both luck, regardless of your decision!

Rachael

[gym law mom]

The good news is she will grow out of it. Bad news is it does hurt alot while she is going through this growth spurt and the growth plate is not closed. There is normally no long term effects from this, but it can be scary. Depending on your child, the best thing is simply back off on what causes the pain. In gymnastics that's normally vault and tumbling. See if you can work with her coaches and have her only work bars and beam for awhile. Ice it 2-3x/day and Advil to reduce some inflamation. Some kids get decent relief with the patellar straps. You might also want to ask about some physical therapy for her.

Hope that helps a little

[flippymonkeysmom]

I've seen a lot of girls go through it. Some worked through it, but reduced their hours in the gym and limited tumbling on days where the pain was worse. Recently one of my dd's best friends quit gymnastics because she was tired of being in pain all the time. I think it depends on the severity. They are the only ones who are going to know if they can and want to work through it. I'll be sending good thoughts your way hoping she outgrows it pretty quickly. It's really frustrating for them when their bodies don't cooperate with what they want to do.

[gymnasticsbabie]

i don't want to be a downer, but that was the WORST PAIN i've EVER been through in my life. and i've been through some bad things. osgood was worse than breaking my back (which i successfully did in 2005). for me there was absolutely nothing that helped. some days were worse than others but it was constant pain. my legs used to give out on me while i was running sometimes or even when i was simply walking in the grocery store. i was so close to quitting over it, but my mom said i should finish out the season. and after i had finished out the season i was like heck i might as well just keep going.

However, it does go away after puberty. and i know the doctors probably told you this and your daughter, and it probably wasn't a lot of comfort, but after around 14 i never had that pain again. it disappeared completley. if it gets to the point where she's thinking about quitting, you have to remind her (like my mom did) to look beyond the pain and ask yourself if you really want to quit over a temporary problem. it DOES go away i promise

good luck in the future

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I had this. Did almost no floor and vault for a season, and did all my meets with braces on both knees (which flew off every time I vaulted).

But I kept going through it, and I still do gymnastics (especially floor and vault) to this day.

It's hard, and it does indeed cause many kids to quit the sport, but it doesn't last forever, and it doesn't mean a kid HAS to quit.

[Gym mum UK]

Thanks for all your answers. Her Physio suggested yesterday that she stop the vault and floor for a while and concentrate on bars and beam (without the dismounts) so that is probably what we are going to be doing. He also used a electric impulse muscle stimulation on her. He has also prescribed some stretches to be done every day to attempt to relieve the pressure on the tendon.

It is good to ehar that some people have managed to continue through to recovery. She is pretty disillusioned at the moment and I think the pain is affecting her outlook, too.

[mmmom]

My daughter also suffered through this pain. Unfortunatly for her it has been replaced with other overuse pains now that she is in her teens. Good Luck, if your gymnast really loves the sport she will stick it out.

[gracefulone]

I had it for my first year at level 5. I would warm up vault only once, compete only once. If vault was first, the rest of my meet was trashed. I did have a knee brace that helped a bit, and taking pain reliever helped too. I grew out of it in about 7/8 months.