LAS VEGAS – Beware the diagnosis of tendinitis in children and adolescents who present with varying degrees of knee or foot pain.
“If you make the diagnosis of tendinitis, you’re probably wrong,” Dr. Sally S. Harris said at a pediatric update sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics California District 9. “Tendinitis rarely occurs in the pediatric and adolescent age group because tendinitis is a degenerative condition. So think of other things, especially apophysitis.”
Dr. Sally Harris
An apophysis is a secondary center of ossification that contributes to the peripheral prominences around bones, such as around the ankles, elbows, pelvis, and knees: “The bumps, so to speak,” said Dr. Harris, who practices in the departments of sports medicine and pediatrics at Palo Alto (Calif.) Medical Foundation. “It’s a bone-related pain, an inflammation of that softer cartilage turning to bone that isn’t completely formed.”
Osgood-Schlatter disease ranks as the most-common apophysitis injury. This occurs during midpuberty and is marked by a prominent swollen bump on the front of the knee, just below the knee cap, where the patellar tendon attaches to the tibial tubercle, explained Dr. Harris, who founded the AAP section on sports medicine. “It’s a secondary center of ossification that appears at ages 10-12 years and fuses at ages 14-18.” Telltale signs are tenderness with or without swelling at the tibial tubercle that worsens with running, jumping, or impact activities. “If you ask [patients] to extend their knee against the resistance of your hand, you’ll probably reproduce the pain,” she said.
X-rays usually are not required. “You might do it to confirm the presence of an open apophysitis or to rule out other pathology, but other pathology is almost always unheard of at that area.”
Recommended treatment involves decreasing running and jumping activity as needed to keep symptoms manageable, and decreasing inflammation with ice and possibly nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Wearing protective knee pads also can help. “Anytime the bump gets hit, kicked, or kneeled on, it will be more irritated,” she said. “Stretching quadriceps and especially hamstrings can help offload this problem.”.
Dr. Harris described the condition as self-limited although it can last 2-3 years. Potential complications considered minor include enlargement of the tibial tubercle, ununited ossicles in the patellar tendon, and avulsion of the tibial tubercle (rare). “Generally, Osgood-Schlatter is a harmless condition that you just want to manage,” she said.
Another common injury is Sinding-Larsen-Johansson syndrome, which is an apophysitis of the inferior pole of the patella that occurs in prepubescent boys and girls. “This is going to be knee pain, but there won’t be anything obvious for you to see or for them to point at,” Dr. Harris said. “You will focus on the inferior pole of the patella and palpate where the patellar tendon attaches to the knee cap. It’s analogous to jumper’s knee in adults.”
Lateral x-rays will reveal a small ossific fragment at the distal portion of the patella. Sinding-Larsen-Johansson disease typically resolves within 1 year. “It rarely interferes with activity; they just need an explanation of what’s going on,” she said.
Severs disease, which occurs in early puberty, is an apophysitis injury that affects the heels of children who participate in soccer and gymnastics. It’s marked by a traction/impact apophysitis at the site of insertion of the Achilles’ tendon at the posterior calcaneus. “At times, it can last for 2-3 years, but it is a self-limited condition,” Dr. Harris said. “Nothing ever bad comes from this other than the ups and downs of the pain. It’s pain at the base of the heel, not the Achilles’ tendon area, but patients will come in and some of them have been told they have Achilles’ tendinitis.”
Telltale signs include pain with heel walking and positive lateral squeeze test of the posterior calcaneus. “That reproduces the symptoms,” she said. “If they’re not symptomatic when you see them in the office, you can ask them to try this test after their next [sports] practice, and this will confirm the diagnosis. X-rays are not needed.”
Treatment involves modifying physical activity to keep symptoms manageable. Insertion of silicone heel cups can help, as can wearing shoes with good padding.
If a child of pubertal age presents with pain localized to the inner side of the arching foot, think tarsal navicular bone apophysitis, which is due to the presence of accessory navicular or open apophysitis. “It doesn’t really matter what the anatomy is; it’s all treated the same way, which is to support pronation with arch support,” Dr. Harris said. “If this doesn’t alleviate symptoms well enough, they need custom orthotics made.”