Knee issues with Osgood-Schlatter growing up

[oldman 1]

It was something I didn't even know about until this morning Dr's visit and I am still researching. Did anyone here have any experience with this problem in their teenaged years and any advice around hockey training both on and off ice?

The quick answer is rest and avoidance of activity but since this condition can last well over a year, proper due care and attention is the most practical. We caught this real early thanks to a fellow parent who is a physiotherapist who looked at it in the dressing room the other evening. He doesn’t have a severe case by any means at this point but we want to avoid making it any worse.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit...ss/osgood.html#

Little guy is undergoing a severe growth spurt at the moment (grew an inch in the past 8-10 weeks) which is one of the underlying causes and he just about broke down and cried when the Dr said he may have give up sports activity for a couple of weeks before he realized that the Dr meant if it got any worse than it is now.

Any advice or experience with this would be appreciated.

[Big Jim 1]

No idea man. I just wanted to say I wish the best for your kid and I'll say a small prayer for him. If I was in your shoes I would follow the doctors orders.... don't let him play on it if he's not supposed to. It's that or risk permanent damage it sounds like. Good luck, sir.

[sitzlejd 0]

My doctor told me I had that too when I was younger. I just remember my knees hurting like hell during basketball. I don't remember them ever telling me I had to give up any sports or anything, just that it might be painful for a while. All I can say is that it wasn't traumatic enough that I remember it very well, if that makes sense. Good luck to your son.

[dsjunior1388 81]

My older brother had it and he had to wear basically a strap with a pad of some sort on the bottom of the knee. He got it as a sophomore in high school and played JV baseball with it, which the doctor told him he was able to do.

[Abbieshockey20 1]

I had a pretty severe case of schlatter in my earlier teen years. It took nearly 3 years to get over it fully but I was still able to play sports, it was just very painful at times. The great thing was that hockey was the one sport that I found wasn't very hard on my knees. It was mostly sports that involved running that hurt the most, it was that pounding while you run that was extremely painful on the knees. If your son doesn't have a very severe case and you caught it early he should be fine.

[regsharp 4]

oldman--

This was addressed in a brief Q&A in Lets Play Hockey awhile back, http://www.letsplayhockey.com/ Scroll down to Dr LaPrade's articles. Hopefully this will give you a start on how to get a handle on the situation and keep your son on the ice with limited discomfort....

[prenny207 1]

I had a pretty severe case of schlatter in my earlier teen years. It took nearly 3 years to get over it fully but I was still able to play sports, it was just very painful at times. The great thing was that hockey was the one sport that I found wasn't very hard on my knees. It was mostly sports that involved running that hurt the most, it was that pounding while you run that was extremely painful on the knees. If your son doesn't have a very severe case and you caught it early he should be fine.

My case was pretty much the same. Hockey didn't bother me too much, because it's fairly low impact. Mine came in Middle School, and I was playing hockey and baseball. Being a catcher at the time, it really didn't make the game very enjoyable. Quit baseball and spent time learning golf.

The real fun part that i had on top of the Schlatters was having too much cartilage in my knees. Doc said i would eventually grow out of it, but it put even more tension on my knees.

In the end, everything turned out fine, but it was a couple/few years of daily pain and LOTS of Nuprin and plain Ibuprofen.

He should be fine.

I would recommend "Biofreeze" if you can find it. Basically a much better version of Bengay and other pain rubs/creams. It will help calm down his pain after sports.

[biff44 0]

Search this forum, it was discused many times before.

Basically, in kids, the bone can grow an inch overnight! The muscles and tendons do not grow/stretch that fast. So you are going to be pulling the tendons off of the bone, which causes the inflamation/bump.

No skating for a while, probably a week, and lots of ice. Then stretching! Gently, to try to get the muscles stretched out. There are plyometric exercises specifically for it, like I said, search this forum.

No power skating/overspeed classes for a while, as they are the worst for it.

And it can come back anytime there is a huge growth spurt.