Osgood–Schlatter disease | |
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Synonyms | apophysitis of the tibial tubercle, Lannelongue's disease |
Lateral view X-ray of the knee demonstrating fragmentation of the tibial tubercle with overlying soft tissue swelling. | |
Classification and external resources | |
Specialty | Orthopedics |
ICD-10 | M92.5 |
ICD-9-CM | 732.4 |
DiseasesDB | 9299 |
MedlinePlus | 001258 |
eMedicine | emerg/347 orthoped/426 radio/491 sports/89 |
Patient UK | Osgood–Schlatter disease |
Osgood–Schlatter disease (OSD), also known as apophysitis of the tibial tubercle, is an inflammation of the patellar ligament at the tibial tuberosity. It is characterized by a painful bump just below the knee and is most often seen in young adolescents. Risk factors include overuse (especially in sports involving running, jumping and quick changes of direction) and adolescent growth spurts.
The condition is named after Robert Bayley Osgood (1873–1956), an American orthopedic surgeon and Carl B. Schlatter, (1864–1934), a Swiss surgeon who described the condition independently in 1903.
Osgood–Schlatter disease causes pain in the front lower part of the knee. This is usually at the ligament-bone junction of the patellar ligament and the tibial tuberosity. The tibial tuberosity is a slight elevation of bone on the anterior and proximal portion of the tibia. The patellar tendon attaches the anterior quadriceps muscles to the tibia via the knee cap.
Intense knee pain is usually the presenting symptom that occurs during activities such as running, jumping, squatting, and especially ascending or descending stairs and during kneeling. The pain is worse with acute knee impact. The pain can be reproduced by extending the knee against resistance, stressing the quadriceps, or striking the knee. Pain is initially mild and intermittent. In the acute phase, the pain is severe and continuous in nature. Impact of the affected area can be very painful. Bilateral symptoms are observed in 20–30% of patients.
Diagnosis is made based on signs and symptoms.
This test can see various warning signs that predict if OSD might occur. Ultrasonography can detect if there is any swelling within the tissue as well as cartilage swelling. Ultrasonography's main goal is to identify OSD in the early stage rather than later on. It has unique features such as detection of an increase of swelling within the tibia or the cartilage surrounding the area and can also see if there is any new bone starting to build up around the tibial tuberosity.