
Osgood Schlatters Disease
Frequently Asked Questions - Help and Support
1. How long will I not be able to play sport ?
On average patients who follow the Strickland Protocol as treatment for Osgood Schlatters Disease will have to rest
from sport for 3 weeks. Some may take longer because their injury is more
severe, or because they don't follow the protocal strictly ! ( they usually
cheat by playing some sports, or by accident - they kick a football around
during lunchtime not realising REST means TOTAL REST).
However some patients respond even quicker and I have had some that have
returned to sport within 7-14 days.
Remember 20 days is the average-that means some return earlier and some
later than that.
Not following the Strickland protocol means your child will suffer from Osgood Schlatters
condition on average about 21 months, usually in episodes depending on
levels of activity and growth rates. Again some will suffer for a shorter
time and some longer.
The longest sufferer I had as a patient had had the disease Osgood Schlatter for
over 3 years and even she resonded
to my protocol.
2. Am I likely to get it anywhere else ?
Osgood Schlatters disease or Schlatter Osgood Disease as some people refer to it, is one of a family of growth conditions
affecting young athletes. Others include Sever's disease (heel) and Sindig-Larsen-Johansen
(knee cap), and little leaguer's Elbow, which is more common in throwing
sports.
It is possible to have more than one condition- the most common are
Osgood Schlatters and Severs, but usually pain in one area stops the child from
playing so it is unusual to get it in more than one area at a time.
However it is relatively common to get one condition affecting both legs.
It depends on the loading e.g. sprinters and gymnasts tend to use both legs
equally so often have the condition bilaterally; whereas footballers tend to
have one side dominate and thus often have only one leg affected.
3. What happens if it gets untreated ?
The standard current treatment advice out there is to treat the symptoms of Osgood Schlatters Disease -
Rest, Ice, Compression to reduce the pain and swelling; and modify
activities to reduce the inflammation. All this is good advice but does not
address the cause, so the problem keeps coming back when the child returns
to sport.
When this happens the lump can get bigger and bigger and the soft cartilage
starts to change to bone making the lump permanent. This will have future
implications as 60% of patients with these lumps will have pain whenever
they kneel for the rest of their lives.
A small percentage of chronic sufferers may need surgery to remove bony
splinters or ossicles from the front of their knees.
Eventually though the symptoms of pain on activity will go as they finish
their growth spurt.
So if you do nothing it WILL go - eventually- in about 2-3 years.
4. Is this likely to occur again ?
Yes Osgood Schlatters can come back. Usually if the child has another rapid growth spurt
and continues to play high volumes of sport, without stretching.
Keeping up with the stretches as recommended should prevent it from
recurring.
However if it does recur, following the Strickland protocol again will
resolve it in an even shorter time.
Severs Disease
5. Can Sever's Disease be treated by Jenny Strickland's Protocol?
Yes it can. But there are some modifications required to the treatment and testing as it is a similar condition but in a different location- the heal. I am now working on a new book specifically for treatment of Severs Disease and again it will be home based without the need for drugs, tablets or braces. My research results for Severs are even better than for Osgood-Schlatters.
6. What if I have another question ?
Please send any additional questions you may have to physio@proact-solutions.co.uk
We will respond to every question as soon as possible and may post the question back on the FAQ Forum.
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