Osgood Schlatters, Injury Rehabilitation
How long does it take to recover from Osgood?
There is an Osgood Solution
The traditional outlook was that it took years to get rid of Osgood once it started. Today, with the right exercises, it is possible to recover from Osgood in a matter of weeks.
With just a few minutes of targeted exercises per day.
We still see this all the time, young active teenagers and children diagnosed with Osgood Schlatters told they can’t play any sport for months or even years while they wait for their growth spurt to slow down and their pain to go away in it’s own time.
Pick your Path to Curing Osgood Schlatters
Osgood can be fixed in a matter of weeks. Or it can take years, depending on how you go about it.
The old method of waiting it out for the growth spurt to slow down enough for a return to sport without pain. This can take months or years and sets young athletes back a long way.
Or,
You can put in consistent effort over a few weeks to beat your Osgood Schlatters. Build the strength, mobility and movement skill needed to protect your knees and prevent Osgood from coming back.
There is no magic potion for Osgood Schlatters. But with the correct training plan you can successfully manage your Osgood and gradually eliminate the pain completely. When done well, this process takes only a few short weeks.
Many of the young athletes who start our program do so after having struggled on and off with Osgood for years. All that heartache and pain can be avoided by following a simple home-based strengthening program.
Press pause, then start back slowly
The key to rehabilitating from most injuries, and particularly for overload injuries like Osgood, is to take a short period of time in what is known as relative rest, spending a period of time (2-14 days) with a reduced activity level to allow the knees some time to recover and adapt.
Osgood Schlatters is as much a disease caused by rapidly growing bones as it is an overuse injury of the tendon/enthesis. This overuse is most common in childern who are not strong, mobile or skilled enough to handle their activity levels.
For some young athletes this could simply be a 48 hours period of absolutely no running, jumping or sport. Followed by a few weeks of gradually increasing training loads.
For others it might be 1-2 weeks of light activities below 6/10 intensity and no sessions longer than 45 minutes to minimise fatigue. Then gradually increase the session duration of the sessions, before dialing up the intensity a few weeks later.
This is an individualised part of curing Osgood and is tricky to answer in a blog post. But there are two simple tests you can use to determine if you got your loading correct.
- How did your knees feel during and immediately after the activity? Ideally they should not be causing you to limp or be above a 3/10 for pain.
- How do your knees feel the next morning when you get out of bed? This is a great way of telling if your joints are recovering and adapting to the stress.
If you perform poorly on either of these tests dial your training back further until you find a level you can manage.
In our seven week Osgood training program we provide resources to help you and your child better understand their training and activity levels for the best chance of staying pain free once you cure your Osgood Schlatters.
In seven short weeks, eliminate your Osgood Schlatters and return to sport pain free and stronger than ever.
More from the Osgood Blog
Advice and experience to help manage your Osgood.
It’s more than just a growing condition, we delve into the reasons your knees hurt
Rest is not enough, and there is no magic pill. But Osgood isn’t as hard to cure as you might think.
Seven Week Osgood Training Program
