14 Signs Your Knee Pain is Osgood Schlatter Disease

Osgood Schlatter disease is a fairly common cause of knee pain. It is most common in adolescents and more commonly affects males more than females, although with more females being active in sports, the gender gap for this health issue has narrowed.

It most commonly occurs among children who play sports that involve jumping, running, and quick directional changes such as basketball, soccer, ballet, and figure skating. It can cause a bony bump to appear on the shinbone, located just below the knee. This bump can become quite painful. Osgood Schlatter disease will most typically develop in girls aged ten to thirteen and boys aged twelve to fourteen.

Here are some of the signs to look to determine whether it is Osgood Schlatter disease that is causing knee pain in your child or if it is the cause of your knee pain as an adult.

1. Age

When it comes to Osgood Schlatter disease, one of the most common factors is the age at which it occurs. In girls, Osgood Schlatter disease is most likely to occur from the ages ten to thirteen. In boys, Osgood Schlatter disease will typically occur from ages twelve to fifteen.

The reason for this is quite simply because girls tend to enter puberty at an earlier age than boys. The bones of adolescents have an area where the bone grows. This is called the growth plate. The growth plates are the areas of cartilage located around the ends of the bones.

During the growth period, these growth plates can become swollen or damaged. This is especially true in the growth plates surrounding the knees. If your child is going through a growth spurt and has developed pain in their knees, there is a good chance that it is caused by Osgood Schlatter disease.