Traction Apophysitis

The exact aetiology of Osgood-Schlatter disease is controversial. The generally excepted idea is that of a traction apophysitis of the patellar ligament on the tibial tubercle. It was described independently in 1903 by Osgood in the English literature and Schlatter in the German literature. This condition is the commonest cause of knee pain in preadolescents. 

OSD needs to be differentiated from Sinding-Larsen and Johansson syndrome which is a traction apophysitis of the distal pole of the patella. 

The lesion occurs when the tibial tubercle is in the apophyseal stage and the secondary ossification centre has appeared. The tibial tubercle apophysis appears between 7-9 years of age, and repeated traction injuries cause microfractures in the apophysis (Lazerte 1958). 

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