Akebono's knees

[Seelye Martin <seelye@beaver.ocean.washington.edu>]

In the latest issue of Sumo World, Mark Shilling writes about Akebono's
physical problems.  He says that Ake has Osgood-Schlatter's disease,"which
is a progressive degenerative condition."  Ake has bad knees, but probably
not Osgood-Schlatter's.  My understanding is that O-S is a condition
encountered by growing adolescent boys, where they grow so fast that the
bone growth outreaches the blood supply development.  This causes pain and
suffering for 2-3 years, at which time the knee returns to near normal. 
Our son had O-S during ages 13-16, when his height increased by 10-20
cm/year.  He is now at 193 cm, and pain and symptom free.  Ake certainly
has knee problems, but unless he completely ignored the condition as an
adolescent, it is not likely that Osgood-Schlatter's is the source.
best to all, Seelye Martin