Current management strategies in Osgood Schlatter: A cross-sectional mixed-method study

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Pediatric Orthopedics
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Osgood Schlatter disease (OSD) is a prevalent knee condition in adolescent athletes (ages 9-16).
• Current clinical practice lacks evidence-based guidelines for OSD management.
• International healthcare professional perspectives on OSD diagnosis and management are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the diagnostic and management strategies for Osgood Schlatter disease (OSD) employed by international healthcare professionals.
• To identify commonalities and variations in OSD care across different medical specialties.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method study utilizing a convergent parallel design.
• Quantitative data collected via questionnaires from 251 healthcare professionals.
• Qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews with 20 healthcare professionals, analyzed using a phenomenological approach.

Main Results:

• Pain at the tibial tuberosity was the most common diagnostic criterion (97%).
• Patient education (99%) and exercise therapy (92%) were the most frequent treatments; other treatments showed heterogeneity.
• Managing training load (97%), pain (87%), and psychosocial factors (86%) were key for return to activity.

Conclusions:

• Diagnostic criteria for OSD are relatively consistent among healthcare professionals.
• Significant heterogeneity exists in OSD treatment approaches, as revealed by mixed-methods data.
• Psychosocial factors, including family involvement, are critical considerations in OSD management.