kids knee pain

Hi,

Since I have had knee pain and am just beginning to try to get back into training with my knee strapped my coaches asked me to give a young boy (about 10) some advice RE his knee pain.

I don't think his family can afford to get a professional opinion about this and he's a real little trooper so I'd hate to see him get any permanent joint damage.

He gets pain in BOTH knees but the left more than the right. His knees have been bad enough to hurt just walking from his room to the kitchen at home. He is still bothered by it at boxing.

I told him not to run for a while because that is what I was told. I don't know whether or not to tell him to take a break from boxing as well or practice in southpaw stance sometimes to take the pressure off his left knee a bit (that's what I've been doing).

I'm giving his some gentle stretches and exercises a physio recommended for me.

Would you tell him to stop completely and for how long? My brother had to give up football as kid for several years as he grew too fast (don't know why he got all the tall genes!). Is there much chance of this being the problem? It would suck for the little guy if it is!

The young bloke needs proper shoes ! and yes he needs some time off, as for length of time that depends, however long it takes for him to feel good again . He is doing something wrong in training?

young kids are still growing and they are kind of tricky. I am sure scrap or md can give you more detailed info on the subject ! best of luck mate ! O0

Have a look below the soft bit, below the patella where the patella ligament joins the front of the tibia. Is there a bump on the bone or tenderness there?

Good thinking RE the shoes!

I'm not sure whether he would have hurt his knee through something he does at training. He is a pretty obedient kid so he would do exactly as he is told possibly even if it irritates his knee :(

He wasn't at training tonight so i couldn't check his knee but I did get a chance to talk to his dad.

Apparently he has recently been given new shoes but I don't know how recently and if the knee pain might have begun before he got them.

I'll check for a lump next time he comes to training but his dad did say his brother touching (not roughly apparently) his knee was enough to make him scream.

I was disappointed to hear they took him to a GP (general practitioner -what we call a non specialist doctor in Australia - not sure if you have a different system) who took x-rays and said it's nothing serious.

He/she didn't give them any specific treatment advice despite the fact the poor kid is in a huge amount of pain. I'm not a doctor but since my knee has taken so long to heal and doesn't present with anything like as much pain as his does it seems negligent to pretend it will go away by itself.

Thanks for the help - I'll get back to you as soon as I've checked the knee for a lump :-)

Sharla, Hes at that age which if he keeps doing it ,it can cause long term problems Id recommend you taking him in water. Up to his kneck no chin and let him run on the spot in water for 10 mins for a month every day. The kid seems a good worker cut it down, I wouldnt recommend stretch hes to young

So no ITB stretching - could that damage him?

Would an anti-inflammatory cream and or tablet like Ibuprofen be alright?

What about strapping his knee - just with tape across the patella tendon like the physio told me to try for myself - or is that totally pointless as he perhaps shouldn't be doing any boxing training at all?

It's scary to think he could end up with permanent damage if this isn't managed properly as the only thing they've done for him so far is a two week period off - after which he decided he was better and started to train and run again.

I think he's eager to run partly because he's representing his school in a big interschool/interstate beep test competition in August. Perhaps he's been playing his knee pain down a bit so he can train more - except screaming when his brother touches it is a bit of a giveaway!

I thought of trying to borrow a camera and interviewing him for you. Possibly getting him to do a bit of shadow work in case your more experienced eyes can spot something i can't. I thought of a few obvious questions like where and when does it hurt - any others you'd like me to ask? Any movements like half squats or something you'd like to see him do?

Physios here are expensive for families who can't afford private health care insurance which is why he went to a GP instead of a physio. We both really appreciate any advice you can give. :)

if possible the lad should go to his local doctor and seek advice. i'd suggest he stop running, skipping and anything impact bearing, once his legs feel good again he should start very slowly...............1min light skipping, 1 min light jogging then very slowly add time if he feels no pain the key is to take it very slowly.....doing to much will possibly cause much worse problems. i have had major surgey on both my shins so i know better then most things need to be done slowly and in the right manner

In the vidio just get him to walk to the camera 15 strides veiw the whole body top off,he can wear a mask

Kids aren't small adults; their bodies are still growing. Because of this their bones can be weaker, especially at the growth plates which are near the ends of the bone, than the connective tissue i.e. ligaments and tendons. There's a condition known as Osgood-Schlatter's disease which effects the area on the tibia where the quads insert on to. It's very common in young skiers and footballers (runners get it too). It's caused by youngsters being trained too intensely or repetitively and can have a long term effect on knee biomechanics.

As Scrap advised, a regime which cuts right down on the impact is the way forward and since vertical treadmill's haven't reached Oz yet underwater running is the next best thing. :)

Special thanks Scrap and MD - the little guy has decided to take his knee pain seriously and is actually resting completely for a while.

I took the camera to training last night but was not overly dissappointed to find out from his dad he's taking time off.

If he gets restless again too soon I'll get him to a pool! Pretty damn hot here so I'm sure he won't complain!