Knock knees is a condition where your knees turn inward and are constantly touching one another.
This condition is also known as genu valgum, and it can cause a lot of sharp pain if it is not corrected or at least managed.
Children that are 3 years old are more likely to develop this condition. However, by the time they reach 5 or 6 years old they usually grow out of it.
Underlying Causes
If a child doesn’t outgrow his or her knock knees by the time they reach 6 there may be an underlying condition causing the problem, explains MyKnockKneeFix.com
Some of the most common causes of knock knees include:
- Obesity
- An injury in the knee area.
- A lack of vitamin D or calcium which makes the bones in the knees weak.
These are just a few of the most common underlying causes of knock knees in young children.
Symptoms
There are more than a few symptoms you can look out for if you believe you or your child has knock knees.
Some of the most commonly seen knock knees symptoms include:
- Pain in the knee area.
- Your joints constantly feel stiff.
- You notice that you’re beginning to walk with a limp.
Another common symptom of knock knees is that when you try to stand up straight your body will feel unbalanced.
It will be hard for you to stand straight up because the alignment in your leg isn’t as straight as it’s supposed to be.
Diagnosis
If you’re wondering how knock knees is diagnosed there is a certain procedure the doctor will go through to determine whether or not you are in fact knocked kneed, and what could be causing the problem.
To start with, your doctor will ask you a number of questions about the medical history of some of your family members, and whether or not you’re in any pain around your knee area.
After asking you a variety of questions the doctor will then do a physical examination.
This physical examination will include the following:
- Checking the way you walk or stand.
- Checking whether one of your legs are longer than the other.
- Checking the angle of your knee alignment to see if it’s off at all.
If your knock knee alignment is too severe the doctor may request, you to undergo an X-ray examination to take a closer look at the structure of your bones.
Treatment
When it comes to treatment it will greatly depend on what’s causing the problem and the results from the diagnosis.
However, the treatments below are the most common ones used to correct knock knees in most individuals.
Exercises
There are several exercises that can help realign and straighten knock knees.
After the diagnosis your doctor may recommend an experienced physical therapist to help give you a few exercises to help strengthen the muscles possibly responsible for your knees curving inward.
A few of the best knock knees exercises are leg raises, cable abduction, and side lunges.
Your physical therapist will give you the best options to get the best results for your knocked knees.
Orthotics
Sometimes your knock knees may be due to your legs not being equally matched in length.
To help correct this problem orthotics are inserted into your shoes on the shorter side so that you can regain your natural gait and gradually improve upon your genu valgum.
Braces
Knee braces are another common treatment used to treat knock knees by gradually realigning your knees as you go about your day.
These braces are placed around your knees under your jeans and have to be worn all day each day for the best results.
Your doctor will usually prescribe you a customized knee brace fpr you in order to achieve knock knee correction.
However, you can also find more generic knock knee braces at your local pharmacy at a reasonable price.
Surgery
If you’ve tried the above treatments to correct your knock knees and they don’t help the doctor will probably recommend surgery as your last option.
Surgery is usually the last option due to how expensive it can be and the risks associated with it.
However, if all else fails knee surgery shelby county oh is the only option left for you to try.
For adults the main surgical procedure to help correct knock knees is known as osteotomy.
Osteotomy involves inserting metal plates around th knee area to realign your legs correctly.
For small children guided growth surgery is the best option because their bones haven’t finished growing yet.
With guided growth surgery a small metal plate is placed inside the knee area to help guide the bones into the correct position as the child grows.
Once the realignment has been achieved the metal plates are removed.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it, these are the best ways to correct knock knees and realign your legs correctly.
Give a few of these non-surgical treatments a try first and then ask your doctor about surgical procedures like osteotomy if all else fails.