As a matter of fact, it is rather common for children to look bow legged to a slight extent. Toddlers have bow legs which might even inhibit with their walking. Many bowed legs cases in toddlers often result from what is known as physiologic genu varum; a term which physician use to refer to the variation in the normal appearance which makes a toddler look bow-legged. A toddler with the change in the joint aspect of the legs begins improving at around the ages of 12 to 19 months. As I noticed earlier, by the age of 3 years, the problem will have resolved itself without the requirement for any treatment. Anyhow, if bow legs appear to be still present in the older kids or adults, treatment will be needed.
Bowlegs can cause pain in the knees and movement restrictions, especially in the older kids. Some people are born with bow legs, while others might develop the situation in one leg due to damage. Anyhow, the primary issue with bow legs is that the osteoarthritis situation might develop in the medial (inner part of your knee), causing swelling, and pain and eventually, problems arise when it comes to engaging in the usual day to day activities. The situation can be worsened by obesity or overuse of knee joints and can become quite a critical issue if the cartilage (medial meniscus) is separated.
What Causes Bowed Legs?
There are some medical states which are answerable for bow legs. For instance, Blount’s illness is one such medical state which influences the bone growth, which results in the unprecedented growth of shin bone or upper part of the tibia, leading to bow legs. Both adults and toddlers can expand the condition. Anyhow, Blount’s disease is capable of being treated. If it is found early in children, leg braces are used so as to correct it. If the bowing of legs rises or persists in spite use of braces, surgery might be necessary.
There are other rare situations which might also result in bow legs in children. For instance, metabolism disorders like rickets (which is a vitamin D deficiency), may also lead to bow legs. Below given are some of the primary causes of Bow legs:
A fracture, trauma or damage that has not healed correctly.
An unusual bone development may cause bow legs to occur.
Fluoride and lead poisoning can also be liable for bow legs.
Rickets may cause confirmed cases of bow legs; caused due to lack of vitamin D.
Blount’s disease can also be blameworthy for the development of bowlegs.
How Are Bow Legs Fixed?
Pilates
Pilates can be quite successful when it comes to improving the intrinsic muscles, realigning your body, and correcting your posture and bow legs. Some exercises like ballerina's arms’ and roll up, may provide you power to tone the legs and grow the muscles in the abdomen; you can raise your legs up and then lay down on your back. Then, you can keep the legs together while moving them up and down swiftly. You can then raise your upper torso off the floor surface and harden your abdominal muscles. Performing Pilates is one great way of fixing bow legs.
Massage Therapy Exercises
During the massage therapy exercise, a therapist will move your legs back and forth repeatedly for an expanded period. The massage therapy will support in correcting the bow legs in due course. The procedure will sometimes be repeated before you see noticeable outcomes.
Leg Exercises
This kind of exercise is mainly targeted at strengthening the muscles around your knees; it will lower the strain exerted on your joints and tendons and will advance your bowed legs. Anyhow, the leg exercises can only be truly successful if the bowed legs situation is slight to some extent. One of the leg exercises which can be done easily is; lying flat on the bench, folding the knees and then placing a 10-pound weight in between your feet. You should fold your legs till you touch your butt and then extend them. The procedure should be repeated for unlimited times.
Stretches
Stretching is another vital way of improving the legs, the posture and also the rest of the body. Some exercises like yoga will help lengthen your body’s muscles and give strength to the center and the core of these muscles. Stretching will also support in realigning your muscular and skeletal systems, thereby enabling better support for your body.
Vitamin D
Bowlegs may also be an outcome of vitamin D deficiency. For instance, rickets (caused due to vitamin D deficiency), can cause bow legs to grow. Therefore, increasing vitamin D levels can support in preventing rickets from growing, and in turn, might help in correcting the bow legs of a child.
Medical Braces
Some special shoes, casts and leg braces, can be used to support and to treat bow legs in young children. Medical braces are typically used if the bow legs situation is rather severe on a child, and they have another disease in additional to bow legs. The child should wear the braces till the leg bones get straightened.
Surgery
In adults who have critical cases of Bowlegs, bow leg correction surgery is the only alternative. The surgery will shift the way the bones are resting on the knees, and it will correct your bow legs while lowering the strain exerted on the cartilage. Bow leg correction surgery is considered as an ideal procedure in regards to correcting bowlegs in adults with severe cases of bowlegs.