Characteristics of the Kicking Motion in Adolescent Male Soccer Players Who Develop Osgood-Schlatter Disease: A Prospective Study

Background: Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD) is an apophysitis of the tibial tubercle caused by repeated traction of the patellar tendon during adolescence. Although OSD is associated more with sports such as soccer, it remains unclear whether the kicking motion itself is related to OSD onset.

Purpose: To prospectively evaluate the kicking motion in adolescent soccer players who later developed OSD.

Study Design: Case-control study.

Methods: The authors observed 47 Japanese adolescent male soccer players (mean age, 12 years) over 6 months in 2018-2019; none of the participants had OSD at study onset. The players underwent tibial tubercle ultrasound at baseline, and their kicking motion was evaluated using 3-dimensional (3D) motion analysis with 65 reflective markers. The 3D angle of the lumbar spine, thorax, and pelvis and the angular velocity of the hips, knees, and ankles were calculated for the support leg. The kicking motion was divided into 8 phases, and ball speed, kicking time, and positions of the support (nonkicking) leg and center of mass (COM) from the ball were calculated for each phase. Six months later, the players underwent another ultrasound and were divided into 2 groups: those diagnosed with OSD in the support leg (OSD group) and those without OSD (normal [NRL] group). All factors calculated using the kicking motion analysis at the baseline were compared between groups.

Results: There were 19 players in the OSD group and 28 players in the NRL group. Anthropometric measurements, ball speed, and kicking time were similar between the 2 groups. The forward translation of the COM and the support leg, the flexion angle of the thorax, and the rotation angle of the pelvis before impact with the ball were all significantly smaller in the OSD group than in the NRL group ( < .05). Moreover, the knee extension angular velocity of the support leg was significantly larger in the OSD group ( < .05) at ball impact.

Conclusion: A kicking motion with small COM translation, small thoracic flexion, and small pelvic rotation before ball impact, as well as large knee extension angular velocity of the support leg at ball impact, may be associated with OSD onset.