Anyone know about Osgood-Schlatter's Disease

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Dubsie

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Daughter (10 but tall) has been diagnosed with this http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Osgood-Schlatter's-Disease.htm , just got to go for an Xray to confirm next week.

Are there any physiotherpists out there whould know if this is likely to be caused by lots of riding, and therefore will she have to cut back? Also is it likely that the pain in the knee might affect how she rides? Have just realised that the NF has started (in canter only) tilting his head slightly, so his nose goes to the right away from her 'bad' leg (but only when ridden, hence was thinking saddle refit due), but also just remembered the Arabx who is v good with dressage and schooling last time she rode him she found difficult to get him to canter on the right leg...would this be likely to be connected to the fact she has the problem with her left knee? What do you think? It's only painful when she kneels on it or runs too much, she's never complained about actually riding, only mounting with a leg up.

Hmmn. Will get her dosed up with paracetamol and ice pack the knee for 10 minutes before she rides tomorrow (as per doctor's suggestions pre exercise) and see if the ponies work better.
 
Yup, D1 has it (both knees). Hubby has it as well.

D1 cut the riding down a bit for a while and had daily exercises from a sports physio.

Haven't noticed the ponies going poorly due to it though.

She's regularly ridden four neds a day and it's not caused a problem :)

When it's ouchy, she cuts the rising trot (lots of work without stirrups :D).

Watch it on the standing up, and sitting down with legs too tucked up. No kneeling!

D1 is fifteen. She's happy to talk if you want :)
 
I have this....

:)

and basically, when it was really bad i just rode with support bandages around my knees, and longer stirrups... tried to keep away from short stirrups and jumping....

it hasnt been bad since last summer... not too bad at the moment...

just let her know it will get better :)
just see how it goes, maybe cut down a bit to see... strap it up... heat is good after riding before bed, like deep heat gel or one of those teddy things you put in the microwave...

also trying not to put anymore stress on it by different sports

im not allowed to do high jump etc... but can cycle if im careful... i cant run anymore either...

also had to be careful with my swimming, especially breastroke

but it will be ok :)
 
Thanks Mrs M - will prob see what the Xray shows and get diagnosis confirmed, am sure daughter would love to know what can be done, and she likes working without stirrups so will advise her RIs! (hee hee one is quite a task master without!)

I am wondering if as yours had it in both knees then surely the effect would balance? Am assuming as mine has it in the left knee she's unbalanced in asking, am now trying to imagine what happens when you ask for canter and how the left knee hurting might affect 'how' she's asking in that she's getting unexpected results? Can't ask her as she's in bed!
 
i also have it in both knees; havent seen any difference in any horse i have ridden.
could it have affected her hips or lower back? as this could affect the horse i guess....

obviously having it in both knees wouldnt affect my balance as i would just try ride normally lol and wouldnt be any more wobbly either way as im not over compensating on one side...
 
d_s said:
I have this....

:)

and basically, when it was really bad i just rode with support bandages around my knees, and longer stirrups... tried to keep away from short stirrups and jumping....

it hasnt been bad since last summer... not too bad at the moment...

just let her know it will get better :)
just see how it goes, maybe cut down a bit to see... strap it up... heat is good after riding before bed, like deep heat gel or one of those teddy things you put in the microwave...

also trying not to put anymore stress on it by different sports

im not allowed to do high jump etc... but can cycle if im careful... i cant run anymore either...

also had to be careful with my swimming, especially breastroke

but it will be ok :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's very helpful. I am sending a firm note with the pages from the link to her PE teacher at school, he puts a lot on her to play footie in the girls 5 aside (she scores a lot) and for running (she's the fastest as she has legs of a 13 year old + strong riding muscles), don't see why she can't keep up the riding and let the school sports drop!
 
D1 gave up running. She swims, but it's a life saving club, so not so much on the lengths. Sitting cross legged is a no-no. Cycling has stopped as well. Basically anything that requires the lifting of the leg/bending of the knee has to be considered and accounted for. D1 says that sometimes when she gets up from sitting it hurts and takes a moment to get her legs sorted out.

Interestingly she was booked in for an x-ray, but the hospital sent it back - x-ray department said it would need a scan rather than an x-ray to confirm. We didn't bother, due to having D with it and knowing what could/couldn't be done.
 
I suffered with this when I was about 15, I sustained a knee injury from football which brought on more problems. At the time I didn't have my own horse, just had weekly lessons.

I am now nearly 25, so out grown the condition, but due to the knee injury at the same time I am left with weak knees. I do find jumping can be uncomfortable (uckily I do dressage) and sometimes long hacking, but 99% the riding doesn't cause me any problems.
 
Thanks Trendy, I think it'll be best if she rests the knee as much as possible so as well as cutting PE at school I will tell her RIs to make her do work w/o stirrups rather than rising trot! I think I will also get some of those rather nice Sprenger stirrups Mrs M has (- for me lol! - the ones that come on the saddle are too narrow for my boots, so I've not actually ridden the NF yet), and hopefully that'll ease the knee as much as possible w/o restricting her riding too much. Good to know you outgrew it.
 
Am reading this post with interest... I've suffered with this for years and was told not to run... I was also told that swimming was good for it as it strengthens the muscles without putting any pressure on the joints. You will find that she will probably grow out of it as it is the medical name for growing pains... (waiting to be shot down.... :eek: ) However some people always suffer.... and will find that its linked to something else, such as an old injury... I still suffer sometimes to the point where i'm on crutches but thats linked to my Fibromyalgia...
 
I don't suffer from this, but I do have problems with my left leg after an accident in 2006, which affected my ability to do pretty much anything on a horse! At first I couldn't do any rising trot, no jumping, no uphill fittening work with my eventer, and asking him to canter was a nightmare as my bl**dy leg just wiggled about all over the place! I was thinking of buying the Sprenger stirrups when a friend suggested I try the cheapy jobbies that Derby House do. Instead of the slight bend and shock absorbing part of the Sprengers, they have a hinged tread, so that the foot plate moves as you leg does, thus entirely eliminating stress on the joints and muscles. They're only about £30, and have changed my riding completely! I have borrowed some Sprengers since, and found that although they're better than conventional stirrups, my cheap hinged jobbies are far superior! I can now event and hunt my boy, something which I never thought I'd be able to do again without sobbing the whole way round with the pain and frustration of having a leg that didn't listen!
 
Ah, growing pains!:rolleyes:
Thats what they said I had before they eventually said I had OSD.I was diagnosed in the 70's, treatment then was 6 weeks in plaster from thigh to ankle, not good when you're a pony mad kid!
Once it settled down I had no trouble riding, I'd just echo what others have said, rest if it's painful.Nowadays treatment is more physio based and strengthening the supporting muscles does help, the worst thing you can do is not excercise it!Really the only thing I did was wear a support if I was going to be riding for more than an hour or so, or doing jumping,but its more of a nuisance than a big problem.
Just reassure your daughter it won't stop her riding!:)
 
I had it from about age 11 to age 14. When i was about 12 i had to go 6 months without PE or riding (although i did ride after about 8 weeks but just wore supports) Running and doing sharp turns, such as in netball, basketball, i assume football etc puts more pressure on the joints. I also found no stirrup work to be helpful. My knees sometimes gave way on me, but this stopped fairly quickly.

The only lasting thing now is if i do lots and lots of hacking. Like 4 hours several days in a row and lots of out of the saddle canter work. Then my knees really do hurt a lot. Otherwise i'm fine now.

I would try to always wear supports for exercise and riding, it really helped me out. But of course the doctor will know best so just listen to what they say :)
 
i suffer from it in my right knee and my pony's back ended up pretty bad. however we both had a rest for about a year (we were showjumping and just went to hacking), got the saddler out etc, and now she, and i, are fine.

to stop it flaring up i make sure i stretch both my hamstrings before and after riding and never strain myself too much. i also try to keep fit by walking and that really helps. the initial flaring up stopped after about a year (on ibuprofen lol). hope your daughter is ok.
 
I have it in both knees, doesnt stop me riding all the time. Doctor just said I cant help getting it and gave me some info on it. It doesnt hurt all the time and can hurt differently<--cr*p grammer but didnt know how to word it.
 
Thanks all, will see what the physio (if we get to see one on NHS if not will prob go private) recommends. Cant afford for her 2 ponies to be idle, OH moans they've not done a lot since we got them (Nov) due to the weather!
 
Back in the dark ages I had a form of this, was excused games (not a happy PE teacher) but carried on riding. I also had/have a form of serum negative rheumatoid arthritis, which is probably linked in my case. I think for some people it is part of an autoimune illness, which would fit with me and with whoever it was who has fybromyalgia (sorry for poor spelling and not knowing who had that!)
Still ride, don't do much jumping, but did manage an 81/2 hour ride last summer :)
 
I was told it can also be caused by over use of the front of the thigh muscles. Which daughter most probably has done - she never walks but runs, any excuse to jump over, up, down or along things (walls, benches etc), as well as all her riding. Am quite sure she aggravated this with all the snow to run, jump, slide, skate on, which is roundabout when the problem started - cruel mummy said can't be that bad as you're still doing x, y z must be growing pains (she's never ill, never had a day off school since she started) but lump and pain never went completely, hence our visit to the doctor
 
My son has had this since he was 13 doctor told me it was inflamation of the growth plate below the knee, unfortunately he ruptured his ACL at 14 and had a screw put in the plate at 15 attatching a new ligament.

He had lots of physio and did lots of physio in the hydro pool for 2 years going 3 times a week which helped the new ligament and the OSD, doctors said he would grow out of the OSD usually by the age of 21.

He is now 22 and still get flare ups but not as bad as when he was still growing, he just takes it easy when it gets hot and swollen, but the flare ups have got less over the years.

He also walks with a very slight waddle as the plate that was operated stopped his shin bone growing, but he still skateboards and plays competitive football. The doctors warned this could happen and had to age his bones to make sure the risk was not bad, but the pain of the knee dislocating constantly out weighed the slight chance of growth problems.
 
Blimey! Wondering if this is what I suffered from when I was a teenager. I cant remember exactly what I was told but it was something like a bit of cartilage or gristle had come away and was floating around. Maybe that was something else! It was a long time ago!

I didnt stop riding as it didnt affect me in that way, just couldnt walk upstairs easily and I limped a lot at work (Saturday job with very steep stairs).

I use the flexi stirrups now. I hate them for schooling but for long hacks they are a godsend. Might be worth investing in a pair.
 
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