Parents I need some positive OSD stories please!!

[needcoffee]

Cause I'm at a point where im considering pulling DD from gym. She's been happily going to gym, but due to pain she's not been doing much besides stretching and conditioning, which frankly she could do at home for less than $75 a week

Can someone please tell me the pain eventually goes away? Or has anyone's kid had a BIG break and come back? I can't stand it anymore.

 

[sce]

First, this story is not typical, it can take 2 years to get past OSD, as that is how ling it takes for the growth plate to ossify.

My ds's OSD flared up suddenly in July 2014. He did very little running, jumping or tumbling for the next few months. Lots of swinging events to work on though. By Nov the acute pain was gone but ti still hurt, sow e went ot a pediatric sports doctor to get a idea of what he could do or not do. She x-rayed it and then based on the development of the plate said that he could do as much as he felt comfortable. That, at that point, it was more nuisance pain. She also said he that he should ice after activity. He was able to do partial tumbling and vaulting for the next couple months and slowly was able to do more until he could d a full practice without stopping to ice. Doctor expected him to outgrow the issue by spring. I feel it was late summer before he was there, and still gets twinges of pain even now.

 

[sce]

All that to say, it's hard to say how long it will take her to grow out of it, but usually gymnasts can do some things even with the issue. It's best though to see a pediatric sports doctor to be sure. Some kids do have issue with the growth plate pulling away or fracturing.

 

[needcoffee]

Thanks, that's pretty much what we heard from our doc too, who isn't a sports specialist, but seemed really knowledgeable on the subject of OSD and sports injuries. Do you think it's worth seeing a specialist? Not sure what they could tell us that we don't already know?

 

[thefellowsmom]

Are you massaging or rolling out her quads? We have had several kids at our gym come out the other side of this and I see them doing this at the gym. Hopefully you can find something that will work for her.

Do a little research on trigger points. I swear, the root cause of everything.

This seems like a very straight forward article that lays things out pretty simply. You probably know all of this since you have been dealing with it, but for others out there. We have had lots of issues, most solved by addressing trigger points funny enough, but I know little of osd, so this article was super helpful.

http://coreadvantage.com.au/blog/2014/curing-osgood-schlatter

 

[needcoffee]

Thanks thefellowsmom, interesting article. We actually have one of those roller things and I'll pretty much try anything!

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

What I have learned from my daughters journey through growth plate related overuse injuries (Knees and ankles/feet), the one general piece of advice I can give you is to have your daughter stretch! Stretch stretch and more stretch! Lengthening the muscles that connect to the areas of concern will reduce the "pull" in the area as she is growing.

 

[B&M's mom]

Keep an eye on the pain. My DD was diagnosed with OSD. She was allegedly stretching but continually complained about the pain. We didn't think too much about it as the doctor had said that it would be painful until she grew. A couple of years later, she had a knee x-ray and it turned out that she had actually fractured the attachment point which can happen with OSD. Thankfully, it healed with no problems but it was not one of my best parenting moments when we found out. She has finally outgrown OSD and there were no long term problems so there is hope.

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

Keep an eye on the pain. My DD was diagnosed with OSD. She was allegedly stretching but continually complained about the pain. We didn't think too much about it as the doctor had said that it would be painful until she grew. A couple of years later, she had a knee x-ray and it turned out that she had actually fractured the attachment point which can happen with OSD. Thankfully, it healed with no problems but it was not one of my best parenting moments when we found out. She has finally outgrown OSD and there were no long term problems so there is hope.

Oh I agree with this! Dd has done physio pretty much non stop for 2 years or so. We always take her in to the doc if she seems to be in more pain to see if we need X-rays or something else.

 

[leotardmakermum]

While we haven't had to deal with OSD, we have dealt with its heel equivalent - Severs Disease. My daughter was in and out of a boot for about a year, until the specialist finally said, "Right! No gym for five weeks!" So she did NOTHING for five weeks. The pain subsided over those five weeks. The rest she had meant that her body (not just her heel) recuperated, and she came back completely refreshed. The physio said that in those five weeks off, her flexibility actually increased due to the rest. After going back to gym, soon she was having a huge skill explosion, was so excited to be back and was enjoying herself so very much.

So while time out from the gym can be scary (e.g. will she get behind? - yes, but isn't that better than being in pain all the time?) for us it was highly successful.

 

[ShesAMonkey]

We mentioned DD's OSD to the PT when we were there for her last appointment for her broken big toe. The PT suggested to DD that whenever she has a minute (while stretching, in the car, at school, whenever) that she can massage the fat pad area to either side of the kneecap. She said not to massage where it hurts, but instead to rub the sides to get the blood flowing to that area.

gymnastruby, is your DD wearing a strap on her knee(s) for her OSD? That helped my DD a lot.

 

[needcoffee]

Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate them all! I'm just at such a loss, it's so hard to watch your child in pain, and not being able to do the one thing she loves. I'm going to try and get a physio appt after Xmas, as money is a bit tight until then. She does wear straps, but I'm looking into some better ones.

I'm also considering a switch to club levels (equivalent of your xcel I guess, less hours and less intensive training) even if it's only for a season or two, but she currently thinks that idea sucks.

Ugh.

 

[needcoffee]

Also, does anyone know if the bumps ever go away? I feel kinda sorry for her if she's stuck with these ugly knees forever