The UK’s Leading Orthopaedic Shockwave Clinic
Tel: 020 8549 6666
Osgood–Schlatter Disease Shockwave Treatment
Osgood–Schlatter Disease can be a debilitating condition for the usual young people that suffer from it, causing excruciating pain and stopping them enjoying their sports. Whatever your age, we recommend you visit us if you have any problems with your knees so that we can ascertain the problem and treat it quickly before it becomes worse. Numerous clients of ours have overcome Osgood–Schlatter Disease in record time with focused Shockwave treatment plus Magneto transduction therapy.
Osgood–Schlatter Disease (also known as apophysitis of the tibial tubercle or OSD) involves the tibial tuberosity in growing children. The condition is characterized by local pain, swelling and tenderness of the tuberosity.
The condition is named after Robert Bayley Osgood (1873–1956), an American orthopaedic surgeon, and Carl B. Schlatter (1864–1934), a Swiss surgeon who described the condition independently in 1903.
It is also a well-known sport associated injury caused by overuse with long-lasting load-associated pain and a reduced ability to play sports.
In adolescents the predominant age for suffering is between 12 and 15 years in boys and between 8 and 12 years in girls, coinciding with periods of growth spurts with boys more affected than girls. OSD is common in teens who play soccer, basketball, and volleyball, and those who participate in gymnastics.
The treatment of OSD should start with conservative treatment modalities including rest, icing, modification of activities, and rehabilitation exercises and physiotherapy. If this fails to work over six months, then shockwave therapy should be undertaken.
In a pilot study undertaken by Lohrer & Nauck in 2012 it was found that ESWT was a safe and promising treatment for adolescent athletes with recalcitrant Osgood-Schlatter disease.
Since then, Gazya et al. (2014) in the International Journal of Advanced Research in Biological Sciences showed that ESWT is an effective therapy to reduce pain in patients suffering with Osgood-Schlatter disease. They concluded that it was more effective than Interferential therapy and showed no side effects or complications.
What Happens During Shockwave Treatment for Osgood–Schlatter Disease
Shockwave Therapy is incredibly effective for knee pain. We will isolate the area that needs to be treated, then using our focussed shockwave equipment we will start sending gentle impulses to the area. The shockwave treatment will bring new blood vessels into the damaged nodules and cords and healing begins to occur. Discomfort will be kept to a minimum and gradually the impulses will become more intense, although little pain will be felt and if it is it will gradually dissipate over a few days.
How Long Will the Shockwave Therapy Take to Work?
Generally, shockwave for Osgood–Schlatter Disease will resolve after four to eight sessions, depending on your condition and how long you may have suffered with it, while early diagnosis can reduce the number of sessions needed. Sometimes it may take several weeks for the full effects to be felt.
We now use castor oil, rather than gel or petroleum jelly as the medium between the shockwave equipment and the patient for many of our shockwave procedures. We have found that the little pain that our patients feel is reduced when we use castor oil, and we believe that the shockwaves reach the areas needing treatment more effectively. You can find out more about this, if you wish, by reading our news item Castor Oil versus Gel in Shockwave Therapy.
EMTT Therapy for Osgood–Schlatter Disease
Additionally, we now also recommend EMTT therapy in conjunction with Shockwave therapy as we have had excellent outcomes using this treatment on our Osgood–Schlatter Disease clients and a faster recovery. We are one of the few clinics in the country offering this combination of therapies, so if you or a family member have this problem we suggest you call us sooner rather than later.
To book treatment for Osgood–Schlatter Disease please request a specialist clinician to call you back to arrange an initial assessment Tel: 020 8549 6666 or complete the Contact Form below.
Our reception lines are open from 8:30am to 8:00pm weekdays and between 10:00am and 4:00pm at weekends (excluding Christmas, New Year and Bank Holidays).