Have we been thinking about Osgood Schlatter Disease (OSD) all wrong? To answer this question, Dr. Erin Macri interviewed Prof. Jens Lykkegaard Oleson and Dr. Sinead Holden from Aalborg University on a recent visit to Denmark.
Prof. Olesen is a rheumatologist and sports medicine physician, currently located at the Center for Almen Medicine at Aalborg University. His research focuses on tendon and fascia tissue adaption to loading, and the use of ultrasound examination in tendon and fascia pathology. Dr. Holden is a Senior Researcher at the Center for General Practice in Aalborg, where she is co-founder and research co-ordinator for the OptiYouth Research Group focused on ‘optimising physical health in youth’. Her research aims to increase understanding of musculoskeletal injuries and pain in youth, to identify those at increased risk for developing chronic MSK problems.
In this episode, we delve into some recent evidence suggesting the OSD may not be the self-limiting condition we have typically believed it to be. In fact, OSD may be more akin to a tendonopathy in its presentation, which lends itself to exploring some novel treatment approaches that may change OSD management in clinical practice.

Related Articles and Links
OSD table: http://bjsm.bmj.com/pages/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2019/06/OSD-table.pdf
Cairns G, Owen T, Kluzek S, Thurley N, Holden S, Rathleff MS, Dean BJ. Therapeutic interventions in children and adolescents with patellar tendon related pain: a systematic review. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018 Aug 13;4(1):e000383. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000383
https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/4/1/e000383
Holden S, Winiarski L, Krommes K, Thorborg K, Olesen JL, Hölmich P & Rathleff MS. Prognosis of Osgood-Schlatter - poorer than anticipated? A prospective cohort study with 24-month follow-up. Presented at the Scandinavian Sports Medicine Conference 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Vad, CG; Rathleff, MS; Jensen, HP; Holden S. Osgood Schlatter is associated with significant impairments in knee function and quality of life 4 years after diagnosis: a retrospective study. Presented at the Scandinavian Sports Medicine Conference 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lyng K, Rathleff MS, Dean B, Kluzek S, Holden S. Current Management Strategies in Osgood Schlatter: A quantitative study. Presented at the Scandinavian Sports Medicine Conference 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Kaya DO, Toprak U, Baltaci G, et al. Long-term functional and sonographic outcomes in Osgood-Schlatter disease. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 2013;21(5):1131-9.
Krause BL, Williams JP, Catterall A. Natural history of Osgood-Schlatter disease. J Pediatr Orthop 1990;10(1):65-8.