Osgood's "Lifer"
I was diagnosed with Osgood's when I was 12. At the time I was a competitive gymnast and went on to other sports that involved fast powerful contractions of the quadriceps such as sprinting, powerlifting and diving. Needless to say, the Osgood's never went away, and flares up from time to time. I'm now 33, and an Emergency Physician. I still am avidly involved in sports, but find that strenuous hiking etc. will cause a month of almost unbearable pain. Like others here, I have a golfball-sized lesion on my proximal antertior tibia. Recently, I had an x-ray of the knee which showed a calcification (bony deposit) in the distal aspect of my patellar tendon, overlying the area of the initial "lump." I have unofficially consulted a number of orthopedists (while on the job in the ER..."by the way..mind looking at my knee?") and have decided against any surgical procedure...namely because the results are variable and unpredictable at best, and I do not wish to potentially disrupt the function of my patellar tendon. Osgood's is not always something that will "go away" with adulthood, as we all know.
I get by with judicious use of NSAIDS (Ibuprofen, Naproxen etc.), warming up before any activity (including walking up stairs in the winter..ouch). I also keep both my quadriceps and hamstrings limber and in balance, to avoid antagonizing either muscle group, and I moved away from quad-heavy activities like powerlifting. Elliptical trainers and rollerblading do great for me. Forget about kneeling..but I carry a set of gardener's knee pads in my car, just in case. I've not had any luck with braces, straps or ace-wraps, but I do keep the knee warm when its cold outside. If the knee is killing me, I'll switch to an aerobic exersise for a month or so that avoids using the knee like swimming or rowing machines. Lastly...cutting back on the foods that keep me fat reduces the stress on the knee.
Thanks for reading this!
