Best Exercises for Osgood-Schlatter Disease (And the Exercises to Avoid)
Finding the right exercises for Osgood-Schlatter Disease can be challenging. While some movements can speed up recovery and reduce pain, others might actually worsen your symptoms. Others, it all depends on technique, timing and progression.
While it may be tempting to avoid all exercise, proper exercise selection is a crucial part of fixing your Osgood quickly and can make the difference between a quick recovery and prolonged symptoms. By understanding which exercises help and which might harm, you can take control of your recovery process and return to sports stronger than before.
In this guide, we'll explore the most effective exercises for managing and rehabilitating your Osgood-Schlatter Disease, and equally important; we cover the movements, activities and exercises you probably want to avoid.
Types of Exercise to Help with Osgood-Schlatters
Different modalities and types of exercise that play key roles in managing and rehabilitating Osgood-Schlatter Disease. Let's explore each type and understand how they contribute to your recovery.
Strength Training for Osgood Schlatter Disease
Strength training forms the cornerstone of effective Osgood-Schlatter treatment. When knee pain strikes, the quadriceps muscles often become inhibited – a protective mechanism that actually works against recovery. This inhibition leads to weakness, creating a cycle where the knee receives less muscular support, potentially worsening symptoms.
The key to breaking this cycle lies in strategic strength training that:
- Reactivates inhibited muscles
- Builds strength in the quadriceps and surrounding muscle groups
- Improves the knee's ability to handle loads during sports and daily activities
Mobility and Flexibility training (rolling and stretching)
During growth spurts, rapidly lengthening bones leads to tension and tightness in the muscles, especially the quads. However, stretching for Osgood-Schlatter requires a strategic approach. While mobility work is important, aggressive quad stretching will put added stress onto the tibial tuberosity (the site of your Osgood pain), further irritating the knee and worsening symptoms.
Stretching and flexibility work for Osgood is such an important topic, that we have dedicated two entire articles to the topic.
Benefits of foam rolling for Osgood-Schlatter Disease at this link →
Movement Skill Retraining
Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Osgood-Schlatter treatment is movement skill development. Poor movement patterns are often a key contributing factor in both the initial onset of symptoms, and a cause for why Osgood persists longer than it needs to. Re-learning crucial movement skills like efficient running and sprinting, jumping and landing, and change of direction actions is crucial for properly distributing forces and stress during sport to deload the knees and prevent future relapses in your Osgood pain.
As an added bonus, the same movement skill training that helps to deload the knees as part of your Osgood rehabilitation will also make you a better, more explosive athlete — helping you run faster and jump higher.
Best Exercises for Osgood-Schlatter Disease
Now that we have covered the types of exercise, lets look at some of the specific exercises that are particularly helpful.
The following exercises form the foundation of our successful Core Advantage Osgood-Schlatter online program. While powerful for recovery when done correctly, it's crucial to understand that proper sequencing, progression, and technique are essential for success.
The information in this blog is informational in nature only. These exercises should only be attempted after receiving a confirmed medical diagnosis and proper guidance on technique and progression. While they can be highly effective for knee pain relief, incorrect form or inappropriate volume could potentially worsen symptoms.
Our program provides detailed instruction, progressive loading protocols, and expert coaching to ensure you perform these exercises safely and effectively.
Learn more about the Core Advantage Osgood program →
1. Isometric Exercises
Isometric exercises are the cornerstone of our Osgood-Schlatter treatment program and the key secret to rapid pain relief. These exercises involve holding static positions with light weights, making them both safe and remarkably effective for painful knees.
The power of isometrics lies in their ability to take advantage of a natural biological process in the tendons called mechanotransduction - where the mechanical tension of an isometric stimulates cellular responses that promote healing. Through this mechanism, carefully prescribed isometric exercises can provide an immediate reduction in pain while simultaneously strengthening the affected muscles and promoting recovery in the tendons. Athletes in the Core Advantage program often report a significant pain reduction (up to a 50% reduced pain score) within their first session of guided isometric work.
What makes isometrics particularly valuable for Osgood-Schlatter treatment is their ability to strengthen the quadriceps muscles without putting stress on the sensitive tibial tuberosity below the kneecap. This allows athletes to maintain and even build strength during the acute painful phase of the condition, preventing the muscle weakness that often accompanies knee pain.
In our online Osgood training program, we prescribe refined the exact positions, hold times, and progressions needed to maximize the benefits of isometric training for Osgood-Schlatter recovery.
2. Modified Squats
When performed correctly, squats can be one of the most powerful exercises for treating Osgood-Schlatter Disease.
The key lies in mastering shallow squats with perfect form - focusing on control, proper muscle activation, and staying within pain-free ranges. These modified squats help develop crucial glute and quad strength while improving the movement patterns essential for jumping and landing in sports.
Given how important proper squatting technique is for Osgood recovery, we've written a comprehensive guide dedicated entirely to this fundamental movement. Learn exactly how to squat with Osgood-Schlatter Disease at this link →
3. Glute Bridges
Glute bridges are a cornerstone exercise in beating your Osgood, helping to develop crucial posterior chain strength without stressing the painful knee.
While they might seem simple, proper glute bridge technique paired with the right progressions can dramatically improve knee alignment and reduce stress on the patellar tendon during sports.
Glute bridges can be progressed by putting your shoulders on a raised surface, adding a dumbbell across your hips or by moving to single leg — all advanced options as you transition from early rehabilitation to a return to play phase of your rehabilitation.
4. Core Stability Work
Like glute bridges for the posterior chain, direct core stability exercises play a vital but often overlooked role in managing Osgood-Schlatter Disease in the long term.
By developing a strong, stable core, athletes can better control their knee positioning during sports, reducing the stress that often triggers Osgood pain.
Some great core exercises include:
- Planks
- Side planks
- Deadbugs
- Bird dogs
5. Balance Training
By improving proprioception — your body's awareness of position and movement — basic balancing exercises help develop better control and stability through the ankle, hips and of course, knees. The key is starting with basic exercises (a single leg stand test is a great starting place) and gradually progressing to more challenging and dynamic variations, building control and strengthen the stabilizing muscles through your entire lower body.
6. Jumping and Landing
For athletes with Osgood-Schlatter Disease, mastering proper jumping and landing mechanics is essential for a successful return to sports. However, timing is crucial - in the Core Advantage program these high-impact movements are introduced in the later stages of the rehab after an athlete has first establishing a solid foundation of strength and stability. When properly progressed, jump training helps develop the explosive power and control needed for sports while landing drills teaching your body to absorb force safely and efficiently sparing the knees from extreme stress.
7. Track Running Technique Drills
Running and movement drills are vital for developing efficient movement patterns that protect your knees during sports. These technical drills focus on proper foot placement, knee drive, and body position - all crucial elements for reducing stress on the knees during running and jumping.
In the later stages of our program, we introduce specific running drills like skipping and stride outs as part of the return to play transition to improve movement efficiency and reduced risk of symptom recurrence.
Exercises to Avoid with Osgood-Schlatter
While continuing to exercise and train is crucial for Osgood-Schlatter recovery, certain movements can significantly aggravate symptoms and slow down your healing process. Understanding which exercises to avoid is just as important as knowing which ones to perform.
Here are the key movements to avoid or modify during your recovery:
- Deep Squats and Lunges - Movements that create deep knee flexion place excessive stress on the patellar tendon and tibial tuberosity. Keep squats shallow and controlled, range of motion should be progressed very gradually.
- High-Impact Plyometrics - Box jumps, depth jumps, and repeated jumping or plyometric exercises create intense forces through the knee that can worsen inflammation and pain.
- Heavy Leg Extensions - This machine-based exercise places direct stress on the growth plate area and should be avoided, especially during acute phases. Leg press is a likely candidate to drop off your program as well.
- Kneeling Activities - Direct pressure on the tibial tuberosity from activities like lunges, kneeling exercises, or even just kneeling on a hard surface in day-to-day like can increase irritation and inflammation in Osgood.
- Uncontrolled Sports Movements - Quick direction changes, explosive acceleration, and unplanned jumping movements should be avoided until proper movement patterns are established. While most athletes can continue playing and training for their sports during their rehabilitation, some modifications are often required in the very early weeks. This modification usually comes by way to reducing training frequency and minimising exposure to high intensity, chaotic actions.
Training (smartly) will accelerate you Osgood Schlatter Recovery
If you are currently experiencing Osgood pain, now is the perfect time to get started with a sensible and progressive rehabilitation training program.
Yes, even if you are currently experiencing knee pain!
When done correctly, certain strength training exercises will help relieve your knee pain while also building strength and endurance in the muscles, even if you are still experiencing Osgood Schlatter Knee pain then performing modified and specific targeted exercises you can speed up your recovery and return to sport much faster. These exercises form the foundations of our seven-week Osgood treatment program.
While you are taking some relative rest from sporting loads, use that spare time to start performing regular strength exercises to build the muscles and tendons of the lower body, helping relieve your pain and preparing you to return to full activity levels.
Professional Osgood Treatment Program
While this article provides an overview of beneficial exercises and movements to avoid when managing Osgood-Schlatter Disease, it's important to note that this information is educational in nature and not a substitute for professional medical advice or structured rehabilitation.
Always seek a professional opinion before starting any new exercise or fitness routine.
Unlike generic exercise videos or one-size-fits-all advice, our online Osgood-Schlatter program provides personalized support every step of the way. You'll get support from our online community and the exercise progressions, tips and technique pointers you need to fix your Osgood forever. Join thousands of athletes who've trusted the Core Advantage method with their Osgood recovery.
The program includes everything you need for a successful recovery:
- Week-by-week exercise progressions
- Video technique demonstrations
- Pain monitoring tools
- Online community support and access to our expert coaches
Ready to take control of your recovery and return to sports stronger than before? Learn more about our proven Osgood-Schlatter treatment program here →
