Originally Posted by Revenged

I didn't mean to put you off !

I brought it up because you said that you had pains in the leg and you wanted to increase your distance - didn't sound like a good combination to me !...

As to what Osgood Schalters disease is...

It is caused by overuse of the quadraceps (the muscles that pull on your shin to straighten your leg)...

Often it is a mild condition that causes pain below the knee and is treated with mild pain killers...

However, what can happen is that your quads can pull part of your tibia ('shin bone') away from the rest of the bone and this causes a lump to appear under the knee...

http://www.zadeh.co.uk/paediatricort...chlatter_1.jpg

This is what was shown in that X-ray link I gave you... When the bone is fully formed and the growth plates fuse this doesn't occur...

My best advice would be don't try to "work through" injuries... There are people who run for years and have 'no injuries' and they may wrongly advise you and say that running through injuries is possible (pedestrian )... Likewise, i've seen a thread on runnersworld or mapmyrun where teenagers were showing off at how young they run marathons and again apparently had 'no problem' but you should take things like this with a pinch of salt... A few people experience doesn't make a rule... All runners get injured eventually but it does happen a lot sooner in people who push themselves to run marathons when they are new and inexperienced... I've seen quite a few horrific injuries (and had a couple of broken bones) in my time and i'd always advise being sensible and alwayge be cautious if you are unsure... You are the best judge of how good you feel (not your coaches) and if you are comfortable with doing 3 miles then sure stick with it but do it if you want to... These type repetitive strain injuries are often found in people who are very good and try to keep up very difficult running schedules or people that are not very good and push too hard when they first start so if you have built up sensibly then it should not be a problem...

As for long term running effects - many people believe that it arthritis but i'm not convinced it is such a problem...

but here's some experts opinion :

'In summary, there does not appear to be an increased risk of the development of OA in recreational runners/joggers, which is welcome news as the potential benefits are manifold. There is, however, an increased risk in those who have sustained an injury to a joint and potentially those who pursue certain sports at an elite level.'

http://www.fims.org/default.asp?pageID=1027211458

Originally Posted by xAlanxEnglandx

Thanks Revenged, maybe i should take my runs easier???, not push my self too hard. After all i have a whole life ahead of me and this is just the start.