Shin splints for soccer players

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crchab

what is sogood-schlatter?

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what is sogood-schlatter?

Osgood-Schlatter Disease: A Cause of Knee Pain in Children

Osgood-Schlatter (say: "oz-good shlot-ter") disease is one of the most common causes of knee pain in young athletes. It causes swelling, pain and tenderness just below the knee, over the shin bone (also called the tibia). Osgood-Schlatter commonly affects boys who are having a growth spurt during their pre-teen or teenage years. One or both knees may be affected.

What causes Osgood-Schlatter disease?
Doctors think that the pull of the large powerful muscles in the front of the thigh (called the quadriceps) is what causes Osgood-Schlatter disease. The quadriceps join with the patellar tendons, which run through the knee and into the shin bone, to connect the muscles to the knee. When the quadriceps contract, the patellar tendons can start to pull away from the shin bone, causing pain.

Activities that require running, jumping or going up or down stairs can make the pain worse. Osgood-Schlatter is most common in young athletes who play football, soccer or basketball or are involved in gymnastics and ballet.

How is Osgood-Schlatter disease diagnosed?
Your doctor will examine your child and discuss his or her symptoms. Your doctor may also want to get a knee x-ray to make sure the pain isn't caused by something else.

How is Osgood-Schlatter disease treated?
Osgood-Schlatter disease usually goes away with time. When your child stops growing, the pain and swelling should go away because the patellar tendons become much stronger. Only rarely does Osgood-Schlatter disease persist beyond the growing stage.

Your doctor may want your child to cut down on time spent playing sports until the pain has been gone for 2 to 4 months. Your child may need to avoid any activity that requires deep knee bending. Your child may also need to run at a slower speed or for a shorter amount of time and jump less often.

What else can my child do help relieve the pain?
Your child should apply ice to the painful area. Ice can help prevent swelling and relieve pain. After applying ice, wrap your child’s knee with an elastic bandage and keep your child’s leg elevated.

A memory aid that may help remind you of these four basic treatment steps is the word "RICE":

R = Rest the knee from the painful activity.

I = Ice the affected area for 20 minutes, 3 times a day.

C = Compress the painful area with an elastic bandage.

E = Elevate the leg.

If these treatment steps don't work, your doctor may suggest that your child wear braces that will reduce tension on the patellar tendons and quadriceps. Pain relievers such as acetaminophen (one brand name: Tylenol) or ibuprofen (some brand names: Advil, Motrin) may help relieve the pain and swelling. Your child may need to use crutches for a while to allow complete healing. As a last resort, your child's doctor may suggest surgery.


How long will it take for my child's knee to get better?
It may take several weeks or months for the pain to completely stop. When the pain is completely gone, your child may slowly return to his or her previous level of activity.

What can my child do to help prevent Osgood-Schlatter from happening again?
Your doctor may prescribe some exercises for your child to do at home or with a physical therapist to strengthen the quadriceps and hamstrings. While your child is recovering, he or she should apply ice to the affected area after exercising to prevent pain and swelling.

In most people, Osgood-Schlatter disease goes away on its own with a little rest and time. If your child ignores or plays through the pain, the disease may get worse and may be more difficult to treat.

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I am a physician-Internist and had shinsplints when I was in HS playing soccer. What worked for me was using neoprene sleeves (stuff that wetsuits are made of) from just below that knees to just above the ankles. I also stopped running all together, ibuprofen and then restarted running when all the pain had resolved but only on soft surfaces (ie rubberized surfaces, flat grass surface) and used the sleeves. My PT recommended them at that time with good success. I suspect they work like the ace bandages that were previously mentioned.
First see your physician to make sure of the diagnosis.
Good luck.

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Where can one buy these sleeves?

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Word of Advice

I know many parents and coaches push their players to play through shin splints but there are some serious complications that can result from the damage that is caused by the injury. Damage includes necrosis of the bone. Very bad. See a specialist - listen to the specialist. 6 weeks of rest is a minimum time frame to heal. Ask the club and coach if they will hold a spot in the spring for your player. If they say no FIND ANOTHER CLUB because they are idiots. You also will need possibly to find specialized training to have your child work on their running stride. When they feel better have them run barefoot on a hard surface. If you hear a slapping noise as their foot strikes the floor then this is a major source of their problem. Their stride is causing the problem. When observing your child run you want to see them almost gliding. High arches or flat feet contribute so orthotics may help.

[beentheredonethat]

Be aware that some shin splints diagnosis can actually mask stress fractures. Stress fractures can take several weeks to show themselves. It can take x-rays, bone scans and and a mri to complete the diagnosis.

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Be aware that some shin splints diagnosis can actually mask stress fractures. Stress fractures can take several weeks to show themselves. It can take x-rays, bone scans and and a mri to complete the diagnosis.

Our orthopedist told my daughter that if not rested her shin splints could lead to stress fractures. A girl on her soccer team had just that happen. It is hard, but rest is the most important thing and then figure out how to change the conditions that caused it, if that is possible.

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Where can one buy these sleeves?

I put up the link earlier but they won't post it, search for sports injury clinic dot net for how to wrap your shins properly. IT WORKS!!!

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Go talk to your doctor.

Be smart and avoid taking medical advice on a board like this. The soccer advice is so "spotty" as is - how good can the medical advice be?

I posted the original message you commented on, we did see doctors before we resolved the issue with the steps I pointed out. Simply sharing my story, it is up to the reader on what to try AFTER seeing their DR.

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shin splints

rest, Physical Therapy(stretching & strengthening) - In-soles with arch supports & shin compression sleeves once your player starts back.

[T Carter]

Shin splints and Doctore

Go talk to your doctor.

Be smart and avoid taking medical advice on a board like this. The soccer advice is so "spotty" as is - how good can the medical advice be?

I did talk to a sports medcine doctor because my 16 year old's shin splints were also keeping him up at night and he was missing school. My Dr had an MRI done it showed quit a bit of stree but I was told the Dr. had never had anyone who had shin splints so bad they missed school and that something else must be going on. Now that I have read here that someone elses child had the same level of pain I feel better.

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Try NXTMILE soccer insoles -- they worked for us

After talking to several doctors and physical therapists, we also learned that many of the problems that everyones been posting about (severs disease, osgood schlatter disease, shin splints, etc) could have been prevented by just elevating the heel slightly. Our son was in such terrible pain and couldn't walk while he was trying to play soccer, basketball and football. We researched more on-line and found NxtMile Youth Soccer Insoles (www.nxtmile.com). They make insoles specifically for kids and specifically for the way the sport shoe is made (soccer shoes are very narrow, compared to basketball, running, etc.), which we couldn't find anywhere else. These helped our son immediately so he didn't have to take any more time off from practices and games. I'd highly recommend them to anyone to try first. They are not expensive at all, and definitely worth trying.

On another note, though, our daughter had terrible calf pain while running, and we finally found out she had "compartments syndrome" and eventually had to have surgery. So, getting a doctor's advice is good.