Osgood-Schlatter Disease Rehabilitation Exercises

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You can start stretching the muscles in the back of your leg using the hamstring and calf stretches right away. When you have only a little discomfort in the upper part of your lower leg bone (tibia), you can do the rest of the exercises.

• Hamstring stretch on wall: Lie on your back with your buttocks close to a doorway, and extend your legs straight out in front of you along the floor. Raise one leg and rest it against the wall next to the door frame. Your other leg should extend through the doorway. You should feel a stretch in the back of your thigh. Hold this position for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times and then switch legs and do the exercise again.
• Standing calf stretch: Facing a wall, put your hands against the wall at about eye level. Keep one leg back with the heel on the floor, and the other leg forward. Turn your back foot slightly inward (as if you were pigeon-toed) as you slowly lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in the back of your calf. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times and then switch the position of your legs and repeat the exercise 3 times. Do this exercise several times each day.
• Quadriceps stretch: Stand an arm's length away from the wall with your injured leg farthest from the wall. Facing straight ahead, brace yourself by keeping one hand against the wall. With your other hand, grasp the ankle of your injured leg and pull your heel toward your buttocks. Don't arch or twist your back. Keep your knees together. Hold this stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.
• Straight leg raise: Lie on your back with your legs straight out in front of you. Bend the knee on your uninjured side and place the foot flat on the floor. Tighten the thigh muscle of the other leg and lift it about 8 inches off the floor, keeping the thigh muscle tight throughout. Slowly lower your leg back down to the floor. Do 3 sets of 10.
• Prone hip extension: Lie on your stomach with your legs straight out behind you. Tighten the buttocks and thigh muscles of your injured leg and lift it off the floor about 8 inches. Keep your knee straight. Hold for 5 seconds. Then lower your leg and relax. Do 3 sets of 10.
• Knee stabilization: Wrap a piece of elastic tubing around the ankle of the uninjured leg. Tie a knot in the other end of the tubing and close it in a door.
  1. Stand facing the door on the leg without tubing and bend your knee slightly, keeping your thigh muscles tight. While maintaining this position, move the leg with the tubing straight back behind you. Do 3 sets of 10.
  2. Turn 90 degrees so the leg without tubing is closest to the door. Move the leg with tubing away from your body. Do 3 sets of 10.
  3. Turn 90 degrees again so your back is to the door. Move the leg with tubing straight out in front of you. Do 3 sets of 10.
  4. Turn your body 90 degrees again so the leg with tubing is closest to the door. Move the leg with tubing across your body. Do 3 sets of 10.
  Hold onto a chair if you need help balancing. This exercise can be made even more challenging by standing on a pillow while you move the leg with tubing.