Osgood–Schlatter Disease: How to Care for Your Child

Osgood–Schlatter disease (OSD) causes pain and swelling in the front of the leg just below the kneecap. The pain usually stops when a teen is finished growing. In the meantime, you can help your child control the pain during healing.

• Follow the health care provider's instructions about activities and sports. If the pain is mild during an activity or sport and goes away within 1 day after activities, it's usually OK for your child to continue. If the pain becomes severe, your child should take a break from activities and sports until the pain is better.

• Follow the health care provider's recommendations about physical therapy (PT) or home exercises.

• Your child should wear a kneepad when playing sports to prevent further injury to the area.

• To help your child feel more comfortable while healing from OSD:

  • Put ice or a cold pack on the knee every 1–2 hours for 15 minutes at a time. Put a thin towel between the ice and the skin to protect it from the cold.

  • If your health care provider says it's OK, you can give ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin® or a store brand) or acetaminophen (Tylenol® or a store brand). Follow the directions that come with the medicine for how much to give and how often.

Your child:

• has pain that doesn't get better with pain medicine, rest or ice

• has pain when NOT doing activities

• has redness or increased swelling in the knee area

• has finished growing and still has pain or a bump below the knee

What is OSD? Osgood–Schlatter disease (OSD) is swelling and irritation of the growth plate at the top of the shinbone. 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.

How do kids get OSD? Osgood–Schlatter disease happens during the growth spurt of puberty. During a growth spurt, the bones, muscles and tendons grow at different rates. In OSD, the tendon that connects the shinbone to the kneecap pulls on the growth plate at the top of the shinbone. Activities and sports cause this to happen over and over, which causes injury to the growth plate. This injury leads to the pain of OSD.

How long will the pain last? OSD usually gets better when kids are finished growing (when they're 14–18 years old). 

Can it happen on both sides? Yes, sometimes both knees can have pain. But usually one knee doesn't hurt as much as the other.