Osgood–Schlatter disease: X-ray image

¹Département de Radiologie CHP Tata, Tata, Maroc, ²Département de Radiologie CHU Hassan II, Fes, Maroc

^&Corresponding author
Amina Alaoui, Département de Radiologie CHP Tata, Tata, Maroc

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A 14-year-old boy presented a 1-week history of pain in rigth knee. He was active in sports. He reported no specific trauma, fever, or other joint symptoms. A physical examination of the right knee showed mild soft-tissue swelling and tenderness over the tibial tubercle, and the right quadriceps muscle was taut. Plain radiographs of right knee, which were obtained to rule out an avulsion fracture, showed sclerosis and fragmentation of the tibial tubercle. These characteristic findings led to a diagnosis of Osgood-Schlatter disease. Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD) is one of the most common causes for anterior knee pain in children and adolescents resulting from a traction apophysitis of the tibial tubercle. While a peak in boys aged 12-15 years old was well documented, there seems to be no difference in sex distribution nowadays. This may result from increased participation of young females in high-impact sports. OSD is a mostly self-limiting apophysitis of the tibial tubercle in young active patients with open physis.

Figure 1: lateral view radiograph showing acute signs of unilateral Osgood-Schlatter disease: mild swelling as well as fragmentation of the anterior aspect of the tibial tubercle