There are many different reasons that your child may need a Physio, the 3 most common problems that we see in young people are:
1. Knee pain – Osgood-Schlatter Disease, this may be due to a growth spurt in children and often occurs in young teens that do a lot of running and kicking sports.
2. Heel pain – Sever’s Disease, this is also seen in active young people and can be the result of a growth spurt.
3. Neck & shoulder pain, this is often due to poor posture, not having enough shoulder and neck strength and too much screen time.
1. Knee pain – Osgood-Schlatter Disease
Pain around the very front section of the knee is common with young active patients who may be experiencing a growth spurt.
It is most common with very active young teens who do a lot of running and kicking type sports, who are also growing rapidly. This combination of immaturity of the growth plate and the shortened muscles from growing rapidly cause a pulling away of the bone at the point of connection of the patellar tendon into the tibia (shin bone).
Treatment focuses on rehabilitation.
This condition will be better with rest and can become sore with activity, especially high-intensity activity such as sprinting, jumping and kicking. Signs include aching and irritation below the kneecap, as well as a tender lump.
Rehabilitation may include movement re-education, activity modification, resting from sport, stretching, foam rolling and strengthening exercises.
2. Heel Pain – Sever’s Disease
Sever’s disease is very similar to Osgood-Schlatter disease but related to where the achilles tendon attaches the calf musculature to the calcaneus (heel).
Sever’s disease also often occurs in active young people and often around a growth spurt. Essentially what happens with both of these conditions is that the long bones of the thigh and the shin lengthen quickly during adolescence which places stress on the muscles of the legs, and the parts of the body that those muscles are connected to (the front of the knee in Osgood-schlatters and the back of the heel in Severs disease).
Because the bones of the skeleton are not fully hardened and set until early adulthood, there is a tendency for the places where the muscle attaches to bone to become irritated and sore.
Treatment for Sever’s disease is quite similar to Osgood-Schlatter Disease (above) and may involve movement re-education, stretching, foam rolling, cold therapy, activity management and strengthening exercises.
3. Neck and shoulder pain
Another common condition that we see in children and teenagers is neck and shoulder pain.
Neck and shoulder pain can come from a wide variety of different sources such as: poor posture, particularly whilst sitting when studying, not having enough shoulder and neck strength, too much screen time and too much study time.
With increasing use of laptops and digital technology children can spend prolonged periods win awkward positions, and often not notice discomfort because of distraction and concentrating intently for long periods of time.
This type of pain often responds very well to “coaching” – postural education and training / strengthening, the importance of frequent stretch breaks, interrupting prolonged sitting/ slouching, the importance of movement culture and lifestyle.
If your child has any of these problems or there is something else that you’d like them to treat, click the button below to find a “Physio Near Me’.
The blog was written by Harry Collett Physio from the City East practice.