Osgood-Schlatter’s disease/syndrome is basically an irritation of your patellar tendon where it attaches to the tibial tuberosity. This often happens in children while they are still growing, but it can also happen at any age. Many times a bump will form over the tibial tuberosity and be very painful. It is really important to keep all the muscles around the knee stretched and strong. This video will show you some stretches and exercises to help keep you loose and pain free.
There are three main muscle groups that cross the knee, and it is important to cover each of these. The first stretch will be on your stomach in prone. This will stretch your quadriceps muscle. Take a belt or dog leash and wrap around your foot/ankle. Take the strap and gently pull your foot towards your buttocks until you feel a stretch. Hold for 30 seconds and do it 3 times.
The second stretch is for your calf muscle, or gastrocnemius muscle. Keep your leg straight, and now take the belt or leash and place it on the ball of your foot. Relax your leg and then pull your foot towards you. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, 3 times.
The third and last stretch is for the hamstrings. Keep the belt around your foot, and lie down. Try to keep your knee and leg straight, and pull the belt as far as you can towards you until you feel a good stretch.
The strengthening exercise is going to be a simple straight leg raise (SLR). You want to squeeze your muscles tight to lock out the knee and pull your toes towards your head to keep the whole leg straight. This will work your hip flexor muscles when you lift your leg off the ground. Use slow controlled movements to make sure you are using the muscles and not momentum. Start off with ten, and work your way up. You can check out my hip strengthening video to strengthen the other directions.
