20/01/2026
If a teenager who is active in sports complains of persistent knee pain, please don't ignore it.
This teenager had anterior knee pain for 6 months. Now it is going to the point where it hurts climbing up stairs. He does long distance running, and now even tht is affected.
Issue being, coaches are pushing kids without understanding how volume can affect bones of children that are growing. The impact of any exercise needs to be managed and coaches need to assess their kids to see if they are picking up injuries that affect their bones. Football, rugby, running , badminton all have a negative impact on their bones if the load and volume placed on them exceeds it's recovery.
In this case, this individual has Osgood Schlatter and infrapatellar bursal swelling. It is very painful to palpation. So now, he has to go through a course rehabilitation with close monitoring to ensure he achieves full recovery and eventually runs again. Of course, with proper education about progressive overload as well.
