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- Issue 68
- Developmental stage and lower quadriceps flexibilities…
Developmental stage and lower quadriceps flexibilities and decreased gastrocnemius flexibilities are predictive risk factors for developing Osgood–Schlatter disease in adolescent male soccer players
Key Points
- There are four risk factors highlighted for Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD); lower quadricep flexibility, loss of gastrocnemius range over six months and the apophyseal stage of tibial tuberosity maturation at onset of peak height velocity give or take six months.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD) is an apophysitis that affects the tibial tuberosity, especially prevalent in males between 10-15 years old and those that play high volumes of sports that require repetitive jumping, sprinting, and kicking. Apophyseal growth plates can be classified radiographically to differentiate maturation status, with conditions like OSD being prevalent between the apophyseal and epiphyseal stages of maturation.
Peak Height Velocity (PHV) is the most rapid period of adolescent growth and is believed to be a risk factor to injury. It is generally believed that OSD affects the stance leg in soccer players. However, no studies to date have investigated the risk factors aligned to the support leg in soccer.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to find out the predictive risk factors for OSD on the support (non-kicking) leg among adolescent soccer players considering PHV age and investigate the cut-off values of the predictive variables.
Kicking strategy might contribute to pathology, therefore addressing the ability to decelerate and balance in youth athletes might help reduce the risk of Osgood-Schlatters disease.
METHODS
- Between 2011-2018, 302 boys aged between 12-13 years old were followed for a six-month observational period. All recreational soccer players from the same team, they trained five times a week for up to two hours at a time.