The human body is a remarkable machine. During adolescence, children grow rapidly and their bodies undergo numerous changes. Sometimes when all these changes occur, pain and tightness can also creep in. There are a number of conditions that affect growing girls and boys, the two most common of which you may have heard of Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome, and Sever’s Disease.
Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome affects the knees of girls and boys aged approximately 10-15 years. It is often associated with people who do lots of exercise. It causes pain, swelling and tenderness around the front of the knee, especially felt with increased running or jumping.
Sever’s Disease affects the heel, usually in kids aged 7-10 years. It causes pain with walking and running, usually at the back of the heel where the Achilles tendon attaches.
Both of these conditions are associated with growth spurts, and are thought to occur due to increased muscle and tendon tightness repeatedly pulling on areas of rapidly growing bones. They are usually self-limiting conditions, which means that they will go away once growth slows down. Until that time, there are things that can be done to help manage the pain and tightness, enabling kids to continue to run around as much as possible.
A thorough assessment to identify any underlying biomechanical problems such as flat feet, or muscular/postural imbalances can improve pain levels. It is also important to rule out any more serious conditions. Osteopathic treatment to massage and stretch tight muscles can aid to reduce symptoms. Most importantly with these chronic conditions, Osteopaths can help to manage the condition by providing advice on altering exercise levels, giving a stretching program and some strengthening exercises to help support around the affected areas.
Unfortunately there is no miracle cure for these conditions, but if the pain is limiting kids from doing what they want to do, we may be able to help. Feel free to give us a call and speak to one of our Osteopaths.