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Date: 06 Jul 2006 12:03:00
From: ragola
Subject: Osgood-Schlatter's disease and distance running
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I've had Osgood-Sclatter's disease (OSD) since the 8th grade and I've
been a distance runner all my life (21 years). I was just wondering
what other people were doing to help recover from long runs and if
there are any techniques to making your knees stronger to prevent
further injuries. I've ruled out surgery and have also taken 8 months
off from physical activity alltogether. No improvements were made as
far as swelling or tendon elasticity.
I sometimes ice my knees if the pain is bad, but otherwise I've come to
just accept crappy knees as a part of life. I can run roughly a five
minute mile but I can't maintain that pace over distance. So let me
know if you have any advice for salvaging what is left of my knees or
if you just want to share a OSD story.
Thanks,
ragola
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Date: 09 Jul 2006 11:23:09
From: Cyberbear
Subject: Re: Osgood-Schlatter's disease and distance running
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On Thu, 06 Jul 2006 12:03:00 -0700, ragola wrote:
> I've had Osgood-Sclatter's disease (OSD) since the 8th grade and I've
> been a distance runner all my life (21 years). I was just wondering
> what other people were doing to help recover from long runs and if
> there are any techniques to making your knees stronger to prevent
> further injuries. I've ruled out surgery and have also taken 8 months
> off from physical activity alltogether. No improvements were made as
> far as swelling or tendon elasticity.
>
> I sometimes ice my knees if the pain is bad, but otherwise I've come to
> just accept crappy knees as a part of life. I can run roughly a five
> minute mile but I can't maintain that pace over distance. So let me
> know if you have any advice for salvaging what is left of my knees or
> if you just want to share a OSD story.
>
> Thanks,
> ragola
Hi ragola,
I also had Osgood-Schlatter's disease when I was a kid. Luckily, I
have been able to run on a pretty consistent basis for the past five
years. Although I cannot put in the high mileage weeks that I would like
to.
I am 57 years of age, and my formula for success right now is to alternate
days of running and walking. While the knees do ache a bit, I find that I
can keep a certain level of fitness this way.
In my mid-thirties I was able to put in 60-70 miles a week running, and
ran a couple of marathons, half-marathons, and many 10k's. I was
clearly overdoing it and things deteriorated to the point where I had to
give up running or risk permanent damage to my knees.
I gained a lot of weight (I got up to 182 lbs.) because of the inactivity
and started jogging again about 5 years ago. I got the weight down to
137 lbs and these days I accumulate about 40 miles a week, of which about
half is running. My "longest" runs are only about 4.5 to 6 miles these
days.
You didn't mention how long your 'long runs' are. I finally was able to
find my solution (alternating days of walking and running) by realizing my
limitations, and that instead of dreaming of those marathons I would
simply do whatever I could to maintain my weight and fitness. I am glad to
be able to run at all nowadays, even if most of my runs are 3.5 to 4
milers at lunchtime. I find that getting out there every day, even for
shorter distances, is good for the mind, as well as the body.
You might consider cutting back on the distance, finding really good
shoes, and possibly adding some walking or biking workouts to your
routine. Running or jogging in a pool is also great exercise that does not
put as much strain on the joints as running on the roads.
I hope some of this helps. Good luck!
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Date: 09 Jul 2006 16:18:19
From: ragola
Subject: Re: Osgood-Schlatter's disease and distance running
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My long runs are anywhere from 10-20 miles and anytime between 1-3
hours. I just bought a new pair of shoes to rotate in and i've looked
into strengthening my legs and lower back to help with posture. Maybe
it will always be difficult to accept the fact that what I enjoy is
slowly deteriorating my knees. And as you wrote, when you stopped
running, you felt sluggish and packed on weight, and that's not what I
want to happen to me.
Cyberbear, your thoughts and comments were most apprecitated and it is
very interesting to read about those "further down the road" and
dealing with OSD.
Thanks again!
Cyberbear wrote:
> On Thu, 06 Jul 2006 12:03:00 -0700, ragola wrote:
>
> > I've had Osgood-Sclatter's disease (OSD) since the 8th grade and I've
> > been a distance runner all my life (21 years). I was just wondering
> > what other people were doing to help recover from long runs and if
> > there are any techniques to making your knees stronger to prevent
> > further injuries. I've ruled out surgery and have also taken 8 months
> > off from physical activity alltogether. No improvements were made as
> > far as swelling or tendon elasticity.
> >
> > I sometimes ice my knees if the pain is bad, but otherwise I've come to
> > just accept crappy knees as a part of life. I can run roughly a five
> > minute mile but I can't maintain that pace over distance. So let me
> > know if you have any advice for salvaging what is left of my knees or
> > if you just want to share a OSD story.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > ragola
>
> Hi ragola,
>
> I also had Osgood-Schlatter's disease when I was a kid. Luckily, I
> have been able to run on a pretty consistent basis for the past five
> years. Although I cannot put in the high mileage weeks that I would like
> to.
>
> I am 57 years of age, and my formula for success right now is to alternate
> days of running and walking. While the knees do ache a bit, I find that I
> can keep a certain level of fitness this way.
>
> In my mid-thirties I was able to put in 60-70 miles a week running, and
> ran a couple of marathons, half-marathons, and many 10k's. I was
> clearly overdoing it and things deteriorated to the point where I had to
> give up running or risk permanent damage to my knees.
>
> I gained a lot of weight (I got up to 182 lbs.) because of the inactivity
> and started jogging again about 5 years ago. I got the weight down to
> 137 lbs and these days I accumulate about 40 miles a week, of which about
> half is running. My "longest" runs are only about 4.5 to 6 miles these
> days.
>
> You didn't mention how long your 'long runs' are. I finally was able to
> find my solution (alternating days of walking and running) by realizing my
> limitations, and that instead of dreaming of those marathons I would
> simply do whatever I could to maintain my weight and fitness. I am glad to
> be able to run at all nowadays, even if most of my runs are 3.5 to 4
> milers at lunchtime. I find that getting out there every day, even for
> shorter distances, is good for the mind, as well as the body.
>
> You might consider cutting back on the distance, finding really good
> shoes, and possibly adding some walking or biking workouts to your
> routine. Running or jogging in a pool is also great exercise that does not
> put as much strain on the joints as running on the roads.
>
> I hope some of this helps. Good luck!
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Date: 09 Jul 2006 14:39:41
From: Miss Anne Thrope
Subject: Re: Osgood-Schlatter's disease and distance running
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The great swami sees porcelain, titanium, and stainless steel in your
future.
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Date: 10 Jul 2006 08:46:44
From:
Subject: Re: Osgood-Schlatter's disease and distance running
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ragola wrote:
> I've had Osgood-Sclatter's disease (OSD) since the 8th grade and I've
> been a distance runner all my life (21 years). I was just wondering
> what other people were doing to help recover from long runs and if
> there are any techniques to making your knees stronger to prevent
> further injuries. I've ruled out surgery and have also taken 8 months
> off from physical activity alltogether. No improvements were made as
> far as swelling or tendon elasticity.
>
> I sometimes ice my knees if the pain is bad, but otherwise I've come to
> just accept crappy knees as a part of life. I can run roughly a five
> minute mile but I can't maintain that pace over distance. So let me
> know if you have any advice for salvaging what is left of my knees or
> if you just want to share a OSD story.
>
> Thanks,
> ragola
The physical therapists who treated me for patellar tendonitis thought
I had OSD (although they called it syndrome). There are some bone
bulges at the top of my shins. I can remember severe muscle aches when
I was in elementry school. My muscles are very tight so the PTs
recommended a regimen of stretching and leg lifts. When I do them I
feel great when I don't my knee feels achey.
I've been running since age 14 and have been able to run and race for
the 27 years after that first race with minor tendonitis as the only
difficulty.
Andy
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