Guest Author - Kari Livingston

Fastpitch softball is a game of sudden sprints, diving catches and head-first slides into home plate. All of these things make for an exciting game, but they also increase your daughter's risk of Osgood-Schlatter disease.

Osgood-Schlatter disease is one of the most common causes of knee pain in children and young adults and is most common in children that play baseball, softball, football or basketball. It typically strikes children from 11 to 15. One study suggests that 13% of all athletes suffer from OS disease.


Osgood-Schlatter is usually caused by excessive stress on the patellar tendon, the tendon that connects the lower leg muscles to the knee, from the quadricep. Excessive stress on the tendon causes it to pull away from the bone and leads to pain. The discomfort is more pronounced while running, jumping and squatting. Osgood-Schlatter disease is more common in children who are in the middle of a “growth spurt.”

The first sign of OS disease is intermittent pain following sports activities. Other signs are swelling, warmth and redness around the knee. If the first signs are ignored, the condition can progress to severe pain, even when your daughter is at rest.

Unfortunately, the only way to heal Osgood-Schlatter disease is to rest the affected leg for two to four months, but you can treat the pain with anti-inflammatory medications like Advil or Tylenol. If your daughter's pain is mild enough that she can continue to play, a knee brace or patella strap can help support her knee.

After a game or practice, remember to elevate the leg and apply ice for 20 minutes. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (RICE) is the only accepted treatment for OS disease. There are other remedies available on the Internet, but the safety and efficacy of these treatments have not been proven.

While there is no fool-proof way to prevent Osgood-Schlatter disease, a good stretching program, both before and after practice and games, can strengthen the tendons and reduce the risk of OS disease.

Osgood-Schlatter disease can be painful and frustrating, there are usually no long-term effects. If you and your daughter take precautions and allow her to heal, she'll be back on the diamond in no time.