How to Get Rid of Osgood-Schlatter and Cure Your Child's Knee Pain Fast
Today I’m going to reveal how you can cure your Osgood Schlatter Disease in a matter of days and weeks
For over 25 years, we've been quietly revolutionizing how Osgood Schlatter Disease is treated. While the medical establishment still recommends months—sometimes years—of complete rest, the Core Advantage approach to treating Osgood Schlatters has helped over 6,000 young athletes return to sport pain-free in weeks, not months. Often while they're still in the middle of growth spurts.
This isn't magic. It's sports science.
And it defies everything you've probably been told about treating Osgood Schlatter.
The Traditional Approach to Osgood Treatment Is Failing Young Athletes
More parents contact us every week with the same heartbreaking story: their talented young athlete has been sidelined by knee pain. They've been to doctors, physical therapists, even orthopedic specialists. The advice is always the same: "Complete rest. Stop playing sport. Wait until their growth spurt ends and growth plates close."
The result? Promising athletes lose an entire season. Or two. Some lose their spot on the team, their fitness, strength, skills and confidence are slowly whittled away. Others lose their love for sport and activity entirely.
Meanwhile, the underlying problem that causes their Osgood — tight muscles that can't keep up with rapid bone growth — gets worse, not better.
A Better Solution Exists
What if your child could continue playing while they heal? What if treatment took weeks instead of months? What if, instead of just managing pain, you could fix the root cause?
That's exactly what the Core Advantage approach does. It's an holistic active rehabilitation program for taking control of your knee pain and treating your Osgood Schlatter Disease.
About This Guide
I originally wrote this article back in 2014 after successfully treating hundreds of Osgood Schlatter cases in our Melbourne gym. When we published it online, we were overwhelmed by responses from desperate parents worldwide—all being told the same outdated "rest and wait" advice.
That's when we realized how widespread this problem really was.
So we created a comprehensive online program to help athletes who couldn't visit our gym in person. The 7-week Osgood Schlatter Treatment Program includes everything we've learned from over two decades of working in-person and online to help athletes fix their Osgood Schlatters: foam rolling techniques, progressive gentle stretching, isometric protocols, age-appropriate strengthening, movement skill training, and a progressive return-to-sport protocols.
Today, that program has helped over 6,000 young athletes beat Osgood Schlatter—many seeing 50% pain reduction within the first two weeks.
What You'll Learn in This Guide
This article explains the core principles behind our treatment approach. It covers the foundational concepts and mechanisms that makes our Osgood Schlatter treatment program so effective. You'll learn:
- Why traditional "rest until it goes away" advice often makes Osgood worse
- The scientific rationale behind active rehabilitation
- The key treatment components that address root causes
- What realistic timelines look like with proper treatment
- How our approach differs from standard physical therapy
This article will help you understand the "why" behind effective treatment. For the specific exercises, exact progressions, video demonstrations, training logs, and week-by-week protocols these can all be found in the online Osgood treatment program. The program provides everything you need to treat your Osgood knee pain successfully at home.
Let's start with Sarah's story—a real case study that shows exactly what's possible when you treat Osgood Schlatter as an injury, not a waiting game.
How We Fixed Sarah's Osgood Schlatter in Just 2 Weeks
The catalyst for writing this article is our basketball athlete Sarah and her incredibly sore knees.
Sarah was referred to us eight weeks ago having carried serious Osgood Schlatters pain for months.
Two weeks after starting with us she was almost completely pain-free! We just hit week eight and she is scoring a 0 out of 10 for pain, and is back moving around the basketball court like the true athlete she is.
Sarah is a 12 year old kid of normal height hobbled by severe pain in her knees. Despite having excellent genetics and a strong athletic frame she did not move well. In fact when I saw her on court, I thought she looked more like an over-60s player than an under-14s!
Throughout her prolonged injury, Sarah had been under the caring and focused treatment of a diligent and excellent health practitioner. They were kind enough to send me a 2-page letter detailing all the adjustments, mobilisations, activations and rehab activities prescribed to Sarah in an effort to alleviate her pain, all to no avail.
After training her and getting immediate improvement in Sarah’s pain levels, I went back to the practitioners letter. I was struck by the fact that despite being a textbook application of the traditional modalities for treating Osgood Schlatter Disease, the treatment list didn’t include ANY of our top treatments here at Core Advantage. Not one!
To me, her previous program was all frosting and no cake.
There was a lot of time and effort spent fiddling around in the margins to try to help with her pain, but nothing striking at the true heart of the problem.
I think this is because the normal medical understanding of Osgood Schlatters is that it cannot be cured until the growth phase stops. As a result, even the most helpful doctors and therapists tend to give pain management treatment, or recommend stopping sport altogether.
But luckily Melbourne Australia is a hub of sports-science research, and I was able to discuss potential solutions with some of the brightest minds in the field.
Understanding Why Your Child Has Osgood Schlatter
Before we dive into treatment, you need to understand what's actually happening in your child's knee—because effective treatment depends on addressing the root mechanical problem, not just managing symptoms.
What is Osgood Schlatter?
Osgood Schlatter Disease isn't actually a disease at all—it's a growth-related overuse injury that affects active children and teenagers. It occurs at the tibial tuberosity, the bony bump at the top of the shin bone where the patellar tendon attaches just below the kneecap.
During rapid growth spurts (typically ages 10-13 for girls and 12-15 for boys), bones grow faster than muscles can adapt. This creates excessive tension at the tendon attachment site, leading to inflammation, pain, and eventually the characteristic bump below the knee.
The condition is incredibly common—affecting up to 12% of active young athletes—and is particularly prevalent in sports that involve running, jumping, and quick direction changes like basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, and gymnastics.
What Is Osgood Schlatter Disease - Complete Definition & Diagnosis Guide →
What causes Osgood Schlatters?
Put simply, Osgood Schlatter Disease occurs when the thigh bone (femur) grows too fast for the longest quad muscle (rectus femoris) to keep up. This means with every step the athlete takes the muscle is pulling aggressively at its attachment site below the knee cap (the tibial tuberosity).
Below is an isolated picture of the femur and rectus femoris, and a closer view of the knee. The shiny thing in the middle is the prepatellar bursa which sits in front of the kneecap itself (the patellar). You can see the tendon runs from the quad and down to its attachment site at the top of the shin bone (tibia).
Looking at this it is pretty easy to understand how this leads to Osgood Schlatter Symptoms that a tight quad that can’t keep up with a rapidly growing femur is going to cause drama at the tibial tuberosity. It’s as though the bones are trying to tear the tendon off its attachment site at the top of the shin.
The issues are compounded by the fact that in teenagers the attachment site at the tibial tuberosity are not fully bonded, and stay like semi-set glue to allow for further growth (this is known as the growth plates).
The problem is compounded by several factors:
The growth plate vulnerability: In teenagers, the tibial tuberosity attachment site isn't fully ossified—it's still partly cartilage, like semi-set glue, to allow for continued growth. This is known as an open growth plate and it makes teens particularly vulnerable to the pulling forces from tight muscles.
Weak supporting muscles: Many young athletes have underdeveloped glute and hip muscles relative to their activity demands, forcing the quadriceps to work overtime and creating even more tension at the knee.
Poor movement patterns: Knee-dominant movement patterns (instead of hip-dominant) put excessive stress on the patellar tendon during running, jumping, and landing.
High training loads: Year-round sports, multiple teams, and hard playing surfaces create repetitive stress that doesn't allow adequate recovery time.
So for tall kids who have weak glute muscles, terrible heavy-footed running styles, and a non-stop schedule of organized sport, school commitments, it’s not surprising we see plenty of Osgood cases, particularly in sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball, football, tennis, dance, gymnastics, and netball.
For a deeper dive into the causes and risk factors for Osgood, see our complete guide.
What Causes Osgood Schlatter Disease - Full Explainer →
Osgood pain can be fixed
Recognizing Osgood Schlatter Symptoms
The hallmark symptoms of Osgood Schlatter include:
- Localized pain below the kneecap at the tibial tuberosity (this is almost always very localised and specific to the one point)
- A visible or palpable bump at the top of the shin bone, this is usually very tender to touch
- Pain during specific activities like running, jumping, kneeling, or going up stairs
- The "morning after" pattern where pain and stiffness is worse the day after intense activity
- Pain that "warms up" during activity and decreases but returns afterward during cool down or the next day
- Quadriceps tightness and reduced knee and lower body flexibility
The pain typically worsens with activity and improves with rest—but returns as soon as sport resumes. This cycle can continue for 12-18 months (or even longer) if left untreated.
Understanding these symptoms helps you recognize Osgood Schlatter early, and allows for quick intervention with active rehabilitation, when treatment is effective and fast.
Osgood Schlatter Symptoms - How to Recognize Growing Pains →
Why Traditional "Rest and Wait" Treatment Fails For Osgood
Here's the fundamental problem with the standard medical advice: it's based on an outdated understanding of what Osgood Schlatter actually is.
When doctors tell you to "rest completely until your child stops growing," they're treating Osgood Schlatter as an unavoidable consequence of growth—something that simply must be endured until the growth plates close. This passive approach assumes nothing can be done except wait it out and manage pain.
But that's not how we think about Osgood Schlatter Disease. It's not a bone disease that requires passive waiting. It's a biomechanical problem that demands active rehabilitation.
Osgood Schlatter Is an Injury, Not a Disease
By treating Osgood Schlatter as a growth-related overuse injury — where rapidly growing bones outpace muscle adaptation — we can look at the factors that are causing this overloading stress on the tibial tuberosity. This completely changes the approach to how Osgood can be treated.
This shift in perspective is revolutionary because it means we can actually fix the underlying causes rather than just hoping time will solve the problem.
The Three Fatal Flaws of a Rest Strategy for Osgood
The traditional approach of complete rest until growth stops creates three compounding problems:
1. Athletes lose crucial development time
Twelve to eighteen months out of sport during peak athletic development years is crushing for young active athletes. As an adult 12 months doesn't seem like much, but for a teenager, every week on the side lines is crucial and puts kids behind their peers, a gap that can be impossible to ever close.
This rest time means:
- Loss of skills, fitness, and confidence
- Missing critical team experiences and social development
- Potential loss of roster spots or opportunities
- Psychological impact of watching teammates play while sitting out
- Potentially follow on health issues as sport and exercise are replaced with sedentary activities
2. The underlying causes gets worse
If tight muscles are already struggling to keep up with bone growth, complete inactivity doesn't help them adapt—it makes them tighter and weaker. When your child eventually returns to sport, the same mechanical problems are still there, often worse than before. This is why so many athletes experience recurrence when they try to come back.
3. Complete rest doesn't address the root cause
Rest temporarily removes the Osgood pain trigger (activity) but does nothing to solve the actual mechanical issues. The time off leads to worsening risk factors for prolonged Osgood in the future:
- Tight quadriceps that can't accommodate rapid bone growth
- Weak muscles that can't absorb forces properly
- Poor movement patterns that overload the knee
- Inadequate load management during growth spurts
During the rest period pain and symptoms will seem like they are managed and improving but this relief is temporary. Returning to activity will expose these unaddressed Osgood causes and issues very quickly.
The Core Advantage Osgood Treatment Approach: Active Rehabilitation
Osgood Schlatter is an overuse and stress injury that stems from a fixable length-tension mismatch between bones and muscles, this is a problem that we can take steps to actively remedy.
Don't wait. Rehabilitate.
Active rehabilitation directly addresses each of the underlying mechanical problems:
- Create length in tight quadriceps to accommodate bone growth and reduce tension at the attachment site
- Build strength to support the knee, absorb forces properly, and protect the growth plate
- Improve movement patterns to reduce stress on the patellar tendon during running, jumping, and landing
- Manage training loads strategically so athletes can continue playing while tissues adapt and strengthen
This approach fundamentally changes the outcome:
- Athletes can usually continue playing (with appropriate modifications) instead of sitting out months
- Treatment takes weeks, not months because we're actively solving the problem
- Recovery is comprehensive because athletes build strength, mobility, and movement skills that prevent recurrence
- Results are sustainable because the underlying biomechanics are corrected, not just masked
- Athletes often end up better than before thanks to the holistic nature of the program young athletes not only fix their knee pain but also improve running technique, strength, coordination and balance. Making them well rounded and better athletes
When we treat Osgood Schlatter as an injury that responds to progressive rehabilitation—not a disease that requires passive waiting—young athletes return to sport faster, stronger, and with the tools to stay healthy as they continue growing.
This is the approach we've used successfully with over 6,000 athletes. Let me show you exactly how it works.
How to Cure Osgood Schlatter: Step-by-Step Treatment
The key is implementing a structured program that helps muscles adapt to rapid bone growth while managing load appropriately. This active approach has helped thousands of young athletes return to their sports faster and stronger than traditional rest-only methods.Here is how we start this structured approach.
Step 1: Create Length in the Quadriceps (Foam Rolling)
The first and most important thing to do is to create some length in the quad to accommodate the rapid bone growth and take some pressure off the attachment site. That’s the obvious bit.
Unfortunately, stretching for Osgood Schlatter Disease is not always the best starting place - especially in the early phases of the rehab when your knees are still painful and sensitive. Because stretches that lengthen the quad also pull on the sore part of the knee. Not cool. Especially if you are sore and flared up. This vicious cycle of pain → resting & not stretching → more tightness → more pain trips up a lot of people and causes a lot of frustration.
Foam rolling
This is where foam rolling for self-myofascial release comes in super handy. The magic of foam rolling for Osgood is that it allows us to lengthen the quad and help it catch up to the femur without pulling at the sore bit.
Once the rolling starts working and the muscles in the thighs are starting to loosen and the knees are responding to the strengthening (more on that below), you can then start stretching gently
This blog covers foam rolling for Osgood Schlatter Disease →
Static Stretching
The kneeling quad stretch shown below is my favourite for Osgood, as it locks down the rectus femoris from both ends giving it nowhere to hide.
This stretch is vastly superior to the standing quad stretch which is never done properly, and the sitting hurdler stretch which I just flat out hate!
While effective, it is a pretty strong stretch so:
- Be gentle and start slow
- Make sure to engage your core and maintain a neutral spine and a “tucked under pelvis”
- Always rest the knee on something super soft
NOTE: This quad stretch is an intense, late-stage exercise in the Core Advantage Osgood Training Program, do not attempt with knees that are still sore. This is an advanced stretch designed for the later stages of your Osgood rehabilitation (it’s added in the online program in week 7, there are other gentler stretches used in the earlier weeks before progressing to this advanced stretch).
This blog goes in depth on stretching for Osgood Schlatter Disease →
As you can see from the picture, Sarah’s quad flexibility is still a work in progress. The cool thing is you only need to create a tiny amount of length to dramatically reduce the traction on the tuberosity and give the tendon and bones the space needed to drastically reduce knee pain and get out of the angry early phases of Osgood.
Step 2: Build Strength and Settle Acute Pain (Isometric Holds)
Creating length in tight muscles is essential, but it's only half the solution. Your child also needs strength.
Most young athletes with Osgood Schlatter have a significant strength deficiency in their quadriceps, even if they look strong and athletic. This weakness stays hidden because it doesn't show up in typical activities, and it's hard to measure directly in rapidly growing bodies.
Part of this strength deficit comes from a problematic reflex: when the knees are sore and painful, the body has a reflexive inhibition to switch off activation to the surrounding muscles as a protective mechanism. In acute injuries, this inhibition is helpful as it stops us from using that joint giving it time to recover, But for chronic conditions like Osgood Schlatter, it creates a vicious cycle:
- Pain causes quad inhibition
- The quad muscles become weaker and smaller due to inhibition
- Weak, inhibited quads can't absorb force properly
- More stress transfers to the tendon and bone attachment site
- This creates more pain and inflammation
- Which causes more inhibition and more pain
Breaking this cycle requires getting the quadriceps muscles activated so they can do their job: absorbing forces during movement instead of leaving the tendons and growth plates to handle loads they weren't designed for.
For our goals of recovering from Osgood Schlatter Disease, this inhibited-muscles-with-knee-pain reflex is a problematic reflex. The great news is we can fight back against this reflex and activate and strengthen these muscles to get the quads back online doing their job by using isometric holds.
The Power of Isometric Holds
Isometric holds (or "iso holds") are the most effective, safe, and age-appropriate exercise for tendon-related problems like Osgood Schlatter. These are static holds where the muscle contracts without moving the joint.
I've seen isometric holds reduce an athlete's pain from 7/10 to 0/10 in less than five minutes. The immediate pain relief is often dramatic.
At Core Advantage, we use near end-range isometric holds—meaning the leg is held in a nearly straight position with the quad fully contracted. This position is particularly effective because it:
- Overcomes muscular inhibition The sustained contraction forces the nervous system to re-engage the quad muscles. Sarah was so weak from months of inhibition that she couldn't hold the lightest weight on our leg extension machine for even 5 seconds when she started. Within two weeks, her quad strength had improved dramatically.
- Triggers mechano-transduction This is a biological process where mechanical loading (from the isometric contraction) changes the physical properties of the tendon collagen proteins, helping it heal faster and become stronger. The isometric load literally remodels the tendon structure at a cellular level and promotes faster healing.
The full program includes detailed video demonstrations showing multiple ways to perform these holds both in the gym and at home with minimal equipment.
Squatting and Osgood Schlatter
As the knees calm down and strength improves through isometric work, it's important to progress to exercises that build leg strength through range of motion. Exercises like squats are actually excellent for Osgood Schlatter in the mid and later stages of rehabilitation and are not harmful for Osgood knees as many assume.
When done with proper technique and a gradual progression, squats are fantastic at building the functional strength, mobility, and movement patterns needed to protect the knees during sport.
The key is starting conservatively and progressing based on pain response, not rushing into deep or heavy squats before the tissues are ready.
The Best Exercises for Osgood Schlatter Disease →
Squatting with Osgood Schlatter - How to Do It Safely →
Step 3: Correct Movement Patterns
This component is where most traditional physical therapy falls short. PTs are excellent at treating pain and building basic strength, but few have the sports coaching background to retrain complex athletic movement patterns effectively.
Steps 1 & 2 are enough to do the majority of the heavy lifting in getting sore knees out of pain. However, eliminating the pain is only half of the battle, keeping the Osgood away and avoiding relapses is the second half of the battle, and this is where movement skill training comes in.
Many young, weak, and rapidly growing athletes develop movement patterns that put excessive stress on their knees. Hard jumping and landing, awkward change of direction, and heavy-footed running technique all place extra stress on the knees and tendons. These faulty movement patterns (along with the rapidly growing skeleton) accelerate the overload on the knees, and they will cause your Osgood to come back if not addressed.
Watch most young athletes run, jump, or land and you'll see what we call "knee-dominant" movement patterns, forcing the quadriceps and patellar tendon to absorb more forces than they weren't designed to handle.
With effective movement skill retraining athletes can learn to load through the hips and glutes instead of the knees, landing softer, running lighter and better distributing the forces of sport.
Throughout the Core Advantage Osgood program, athletes progress through a number of drills aimed at improving their fundamental movement patterns:
- Jumping and landing
- Running, sprinting and acceleration
- Cutting and change of direction
Step 4: Progressive Return to Sport
The final piece is managing how much, and how intensely you approach your activity levels
Returning to sport once your pain levels are under control is a delicate balance too much activity too soon causes pain flare-ups. Too little activity for too long creates weakness and increases re-injury risk. The key is finding the "just right" amount that allows tissues to adapt while maintaining fitness and skills.
Throughout the Osgood program we recommend athletes try to maintain some of their previous sporting load. This has many benefits (social, mental, health) but it also helps athletes maintain a small base level of loading and fitness for when they are eventually ready for a full return to sport.
There is no exact amount or length of training session during this process and no single progression plan that works for all athletes, but we do provide many resources, guidelines and tools to help athletes and their parents make smart loading decision through every week of the program and beyond.
Can You Play Sport with Osgood Schlatter - Activity Modification Guide →
What to Expect: Typical Osgood Treatment Timeline
Our structured Osgood Schlatter program runs for 7 weeks. Most athletes following the program see a 50% reduction in pain within the first 2-3 weeks, with many reporting significant relief even in the first 7-10 days. By week 4, pain levels typically drop to 1-2 out of 10, allowing a gradual return to modified sport. By week 7, the majority of athletes are back to full participation with minimal to no pain.
However, every rehab is unique and timelines vary based on several factors:
- How long you've had Osgood before starting treatment
- the severity of your initial pain
- how consistently you follow the program
- your growth rate
- and your training loads
Athletes who get started on their Osgood early and commit to daily rehabilitation typically progress faster. Those who've been dealing with chronic intense pain for 6+ months may need 10-12 weeks to reach the same outcome. The key is patience, consistency and being adaptive week over week, taking the time and path that your knees need not comparing yourself to others.
Common Osgood Treatment Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake #1: Only Stretching
Many athletes focus exclusively on stretching tight quads, assuming flexibility alone will solve their Osgood. While creating length is essential, aggressive stretching without strengthening will at best provide temporary relief and at worst make things worse as it pulls on the sore tendon further aggravating your tibial tuberosity.
Mistake #2: Complete Rest
We've already covered why complete rest fails, but it bears repeating: shutting down all activity will reduce your pain levels but it doesn't fix the biomechanical problems causing your Osgood pain.
When you eventually return to sport, the same tight muscles, weak stabilizers, and poor movement patterns are still there. Smart load management and modified training are far more effective than complete cessation of activity.
Mistake #3: Not Managing Your Return to Sport
The return to sport must be gradual and progressive. Pain levels should guide your activity—if you're consistently above 3/10 pain during or after training, you're doing too much too soon. The program provides guidelines and resources for managing training loads, but the principle is simple: progress slowly, monitor pain response, and don't rush the final stages just because you're feeling better.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Movement Skill
Many athletes successfully reduce their Osgood pain through foam rolling and strengthening, then wonder why it comes back four months later. The answer is usually poor movement patterns. If you continue running, jumping, and landing with knee-dominant mechanics that overload the patellar tendon, you're setting yourself up for recurrence.
Mistake #5: Looking for a magical pill/strap/remedy
It's human nature to want an easy solution and quick fix. The reality is that Osgood Schlatter is an overload injury that takes weeks or months to develop, and it takes time to undo and recover from that stress. This isn't something you can strap, brace, or supplement your way out of—it requires active work to restore proper biomechanics.
While some of these products do provide temporary symptom relief or support during activity, none of them fix the underlying problem. A knee strap or brace might reduce pain during today's practice, but it does nothing to address the root cause of your knee pain.
There's no shortcut around the work, but the good news is the work isn't complicated and only takes 10-15 minutes per day.
Alternative Your Osgood Treatment Options
When your child is diagnosed with Osgood Schlatter, you typically have four paths forward. Here's an honest comparison:
Physical Therapy (Physiotherapy)
Physical therapy can be excellent for Osgood Schlatter treatment—if you find the right one. The challenge is that most traditional PT protocols focus on pain management, basic stretching, and generic strengthening exercises. They're great at diagnosis and reducing acute pain but often lack the sports-specific movement training that prevents recurrence. Additionally, PT requires ongoing appointments (often 2-3 times per week for months), making it expensive and time-consuming.
The best physical therapists understand active rehabilitation principles similar to ours, but they're not always easy to find. If you pursue PT, look for sports physiotherapists with experience treating growth plate injuries in young athletes.
Complete Rest
This is still the most common medical advice, but it's the least effective option. As we've discussed, complete rest doesn't address the underlying biomechanical causes of Osgood. It means 12-18+ months on the sidelines while you wait for growth to stop, resulting in lost development time, fitness decline, and high risk of your Osgood returning when you eventually attempt a return to sport.
Always get a professional opinion (or two) but unless your child's Osgood is so severe they can barely walk (rare), complete rest (for any more than 1-2 weeks) is rarely the best approach to treating your Osgood.
NOTES: We are not in the business of playing doctor on the internet, this is not medical advice - you should definitely get a medical opinion for your knee pain.
Active Rehabilitation (The Core Advantage Approach)
A comprehensive, progressive and age-appropriate treatment plan that athletes can complete at home in 10-15 minutes per day, at a fraction of the cost of ongoing PT appointments.
The program is based on our 25+ years of coaching and rehabilitation experience and has helped over 6,000 athletes return to sport successfully.
Athletes stay active throughout recovery, seeing their pain reduced and begin their return to sport in weeks rather than months.
Surgery
Surgical intervention involves removing bone fragments or excess tissue from the tibial tuberosity. Surgery for Osgood Schlatter is rarely necessary and should be considered only after all conservative treatments have failed AND growth plates have closed (typically 16+ years old).
Recovery from Osgood surgery typically takes 3-6 months and comes with the standard surgical risks. The vast majority of Osgood cases—even severe ones—respond well to proper active rehabilitation. Surgery is also not a magic solution as you will still have to go through a progressive rehabilitation process and gradual return to strengthening and loading after your surgery as the recovery time will leave you weaker and with reduced fitness.
Surgery for Osgood Schlatter Disease →
The Complete Osgood Schlatter Treatment Program
So there you have it everything you need to know about treating your Osgood.
Our full online Osgood training program extends on everything you have read about this in this article, providing a progressive training plan around the four steps outlined above. Our program has been followed by athletes in more than 50 countries with over 6,000 cases of Osgood successfully resolved.
The program is an integrated approach to helps young athletes get back to sport in a matter of weeks, setting young athletes up with the strength, flexibility, skills and knowledge to ensure their Osgood pain never comes back again.
The program includes training logs, detailed instructional videos, an online support group with access to our coaches, and a progressive week-by-week plan tailored for young athletes struggling with Osgood Schlatter Disease.
Most importantly, our program keeps them active and playing sport throughout the process instead of taking months or rest for however long their growth spurt goes on, a disaster for too many young athletes today.
The full rehabilitation program is available online, can be completed in just a few minutes per day, and comes with lifetime access to the full plan for a single upfront payment.
Learn more about the Osgood program here →
Frequently Asked Questions About Treating Osgood Schlatter
How long does Osgood Schlatter treatment take?
Typical results show a 50% pain reduction in the first 1-3 weeks and return to full sport by week 7. However, every case is unique—athletes who've had Osgood for only a few weeks tend to respond faster than those who've been dealing with chronic pain for 6+ months.
The timeline also depends on factors like consistency with the rehabilitation exercises, continued growth rate, training loads, and severity of the initial condition. Some athletes feel dramatically better in just 4-6 days, while others need 10-12 weeks to reach the same outcome. The key indicator of successful treatment isn't just about how quickly your pain is eliminated but also whether you can stay pain-free in the long term, so even if you see rapid pain reduction you should stick with the full program to reduce your risk of pain returning.
Can I start rehabilitation if I am still in pain?
Absolutely—and you probably should (if your medical professional thinks its a good idea after having assessed you).
Active rehabilitation is specifically designed for athletes currently experiencing Osgood pain, waiting until your pain completely subsides before starting rehabilitation is counterproductive, as you're missing the opportunity to address the root causes and wasting time on the sidelines.
The program begins with gentle, pain-reducing exercises like foam rolling and isometric holds that are designed to settle acute pain. You can modify and start conservatively based on your current pain levels before gradually increasing as your knees respond.
Does the Osgood bump go away?
It depends on how early you start treatment. With early intervention, the bump often reduces significantly as inflammation settles and stress on the tibial tuberosity decreases. Early treatment also prevents the bump from continuing to grow larger.
However, when Osgood is left untreated, ongoing stress causes more bone remodeling, making the prominence progressively worse. Over months this bump can continue to grow, harden and become permanent. The good news is that even when the bump stays, it's rarely problematic. Most adults who had Osgood as teenagers still have a visible, bony bump that causes no pain or functional limitations.
The goal of treatment is eliminating pain and restoring full function—both are absolutely achievable whether the bump disappears completely or not. Early treatment gives you the best chance of both resolving pain and minimizing any permanent bump.
Can Osgood Schlatter be cured permanently?
Yes. Athletes who complete comprehensive rehabilitation that includes flexibility work, progressive strengthening, movement pattern correction, and smart load management are able to reach a point where they never experience Osgood knee pain again. The majority of young athletes who complete our program fall into this category.
Partial treatment (like stretching alone, basic PT, or rest) often provides temporary relief but doesn't prevent Osgood from returning.
Can you play sport during treatment?
In many cases, yes. With appropriate modifications.
One of the major advantages of active rehabilitation over complete rest is that athletes can maintain involvement in their sport throughout recovery. This keeps them connected to their team, maintains fitness and skills, and supports their mental health during what can otherwise be a frustrating injury.
The key is a flexible mindset and smart load management; modifying high-impact activities, keeping an eye on total weekly volume, avoiding back-to-back intense training days, and monitoring pain levels during and after activities.
Some athletes need a brief period of complete rest if their pain is severe (8-9 out of 10), but this is the exception rather than the rule.
The goal is finding the balance between staying active enough to maintain fitness while backing off enough to allow tissues to heal and adapt. As your knee pain reduces and strength improves (typically in the weeks 3-5 range of the program), you can steadily start increasing participation back to full levels.
