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Lifestyle and home remedies
By Mayo Clinic staffIt may help your child to follow these tips:
- Rest the joint. Limit the time spent doing activities that aggravate the condition, such as kneeling, jumping and running.
- Ice the affected area. This can help with pain and swelling.
- Stretch leg muscles. Stretching the quadriceps, the muscles on the front of the thigh, is especially important.
- Protect the knee. When your child is participating in sports, have him or her wear a pad over the affected knee at the point where the knee may become irritated.
- Try a strap. A patellar tendon strap fits around the leg just below the kneecap. It can help to "tack down" the kneecap's tendon during activities and distribute some of the force away from the shinbone.
- Cross-train. Suggest that your child switch to activities that don't involve jumping or running, such as cycling or swimming, until symptoms subside.
References
- DeLee JC, et al. Osgood-Schlatter disease. In: DeLee JC, et al. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2003. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/116712524-3/792345253/1103/929.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-8845-4..50030-2--cesec250_3760. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
- Kienstra AJ, et al. Osgood-Schlatter disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
- Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Jan. 16, 2009.
