Osgood-Schlatter Disease

  • Etiology: repetitive microtrauma, chronic traction apophysitis, stress injury of patellar tendon on tibial tubercle, chronic stress of patellar tendon, transition from fibrocartilage to hyaline cartilage, affects anterior portion of tubercle, not physeal
  • Radiograph: changes in soft tissues are greater than ossification irregularity, early see soft tissue swelling + infiltration of Hoffa’s fat pad, later see fragmentation of tibial tuberosity
  • MRI: soft tissue swelling anterior to tibial tubercle, thickening + edema of distal patellar tendon
  • Clinical: gradual onset with pain and swelling, pain at tibial tuberosity is how diagnosis is made, seen in 10-15 year old male

Radiology Cases of Osgood-Schlatter Disease

Radiograph of Osgood-Schlatter disease
Lateral radiograph of the knee shows fragmentation of the tibial tubercle and obscuration of the infrapatellar fat pad.