Gowiththeflo Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 We think dd may be suffering from this- her knee (well, just below) came up on New years day, with no obvious cause of trauma, went to a walk in centre and the nurse suggested it was Osgood schlatter. She also said 'a bit of dance' might be good to help disperse the fluid, and to keep up pain relief and ice packs. Just wondering if any of you fountains of knowledge have any experience/advice for my dd- she's 11. Also, to further compound things, she dances with 2 teams, which are dancing at the finals of a competion in blackpool this weekend. - obviously she's worried she won't be able to, and is very upset. Oh , and then there's mids auditions on jan 20th too......... ???? I know you don't like to give health advice, but you're such a knowledgable lot, hopefully someone else has gone through this. Thanks, ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anon2 Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 GP visit to confirm diagnosis and referral to physio for exercises to build strength in leg muscles during growth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pups_mum Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I'm no expert in this kind of thing, but as I understand it, Osgood Schlatters is essentially an overuse injury, and as such, requires a period of rest unfortunately, especially from high impact activities such as running and jumping. I know your DD will feel dreadful about letting her team down, but if she pushes on through pain she may well end up being out of action for longer in the end. I would definitely second Jane's advice above though. If you can't access a specific dance physio I would imagine that someone who deals with young sports people would be the next best bet as this is not an uncommon condition in young athletes. I hope she gets better soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Yes, resting is good advice. If she dances on it today, it might aggravate things, and put her out of action for some time. Ice and painkillers will be helpful, but not to mask the pain so she can carry on dancing with the injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Yes, go to a GP. Osgood Schlatters is not really an injury, it is a syndrome caused by growth spurts (although it sometimes referred to as Osgood Schlatters Disease), The long bones grow more quickly than the soft tissues which then become overstretched, and can also become tight. The attachment point below the knee is subject to constant "pulling" and becomes inflamed. With correct management and rest children do grow out of it. However, I would have thought that at 11 your DD is a little young for this, unless she has had an early growth spurt, so it may just be a plain overuse injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdance Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 it is imperative that you seek a correct diagnosis as soon as possible. There can be many reasons for a knee to swell suddenly, and it's important that infection or other damage is ruled out first. If it is Osgood Schlatters then I always advise the following self-care (along with whatever care a physio/GP is giving): Gently stretch or use a foam roller/tennis ball/massage the quadriceps muscle group. It is this muscle group that pulls on the kneecap, which then pulls on the growth plate on the tibia, causing pain and swelling. By relaxing and lengthening these muscles you release the tension on that and stops it pulling so much. It is important though that the stretches are long, slow and very gentle - nothing too forceful otherwise you're in danger of causing more pain/damage. After stretching the quads out, ice massage on the sore area of the knee. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowiththeflo Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 See, i knew i could rely on you guys!!! Thank you so much for all your advice- will try to get a drs appointment asap, Thanks very much! Xx???? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annaliesey Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Intetesting reading this as when my son was 11/12 he was diagnosed with this but GP said just carry on playing football as normal and take pain killers .... Nothing to do with dance but just wanted to say GP didn't seem very bothered about him resting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legseleven Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 A friend of mine had this as a 12/13 year old and continued to take part in athletics, hockey and netball all at a high level of intensity. As far as I remember the doctors were not concerned about this causing long-term damage but said that failure to rest the knees whilst the swelling was in place could result in permanently misshapen knees - which it did. She has 'pointed' lumps under each kneecap - but is still very sporty, 25+ years on. As she didn't want to pursue a career in dance she was and is unconcerned about this but I am sure this would not be the case for a serious and ambitious dancer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Also echo Jane's advice. Friend's son was a very keen footballer - heading towards professional academy training at 16. When he first was diagnosed with Osgood schlatter he was told he could continue to play and take pain killers and just to rest if the swelling/pain got too much. Well it got worse month by month and in the end in year 11 he had to turn down his place for football training as the damage to his knees and risk of further damage was just too great. He may just have been unlucky or had some inherent weakness there to start with, I don't know. They were told it was the was the constant twisting of running and changing direction on uneven ground that was the worst. His younger brother also suffered but he was a dancer (though not ballet) and is doing an MT course at present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowiththeflo Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Thanks all, again! Useful, albeit still confusing to hear all your different experiences! Thanks for taking the time to reply. Xx???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I think the degree of rest required may be related to severity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francesizzi Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 A friend of mine DD used magnet therapy bands around the knee which helped. She was 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May H Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I had this pretty badly aged 11. The pain wasn't caused by level of activity, but the pain did occasionally mean I had to limit level of activity. My friend had it even worse..there was talk of surgery for her. I wouldn't advise to much rest unless you know the sports/exercise is causing it, for me it gradually went away with age. I wore a knee support, my friend used kt/kinesiology tape which was given to her by the physio, it's better than a compression support and available on Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowiththeflo Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 Well, an update is........ It's not Osgoods Schlatter! Gp diagnosis is it's 'bursitis' which is the posh name for housemaids knee!!!???????? advised to 'carry on as normal', obviously avoiding knee drops and any other direct impact on the knee itself. Should all clear up on its own in a few weeks, so thats good. Thank you all for your advice, MUCH appreciated, Xxx 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Good news!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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