Bowlegs Overview
Learn About Bowlegs
Bowlegs is a condition in which the knees stay wide apart when a person stands with the feet and ankles together. It is considered normal in children under 18 months.
Genu varum
Infants are born bowlegged because of their folded position in the mother's womb. Bowed legs begin to straighten once the child starts to walk and the legs begin to bear weight (about 12 to 18 months old).
By around age 3, the child can most often stand with the ankles apart and the knees just touching. If the bowed legs are still present, the child is called bowlegged.
Bowlegs may be caused by illnesses, such as:
- Abnormal bone development
- Blount disease
- Fractures that do not heal correctly
- Lead or fluoride poisoning
- Rickets, which is caused by a lack of vitamin D
Symptoms may include:
- Knees that do not touch when standing with feet together (ankles touching)
- Bowing of legs is same on both sides of the body (symmetrical)
- Bowed legs continue beyond age 3
No treatment is recommended for bowlegs unless the condition is extreme. The child should be seen by the provider at least every 6 months.
Special shoes, braces, or casts can be tried if the condition is severe or the child also has another disease. It is unclear how well these work.
At times, surgery is done to correct the deformity in an adolescent with severe bowlegs.
University Orthopaedic Associates, Inc
Joseph Parr is an Orthopedics provider in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Parr and is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Bowlegs. His top areas of expertise are Osteoarthritis, Acute Pain, Beukes Familial Hip Dysplasia, Hip Replacement, and Knee Replacement. Dr. Parr is currently accepting new patients.
Carle Health Care Incorporated
Leslie Manohar is an Orthopedics provider in Urbana, Illinois. Dr. Manohar and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Bowlegs. Her top areas of expertise are Osteoarthritis, Bowlegs, Knock Knees, Hip Replacement, and Knee Replacement.
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center
Louis Mendella is an Orthopedics provider in Mattoon, Illinois. Dr. Mendella and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Bowlegs. His top areas of expertise are Osteoarthritis, Tendinitis, Tenosynovitis, Hip Replacement, and Knee Replacement. Dr. Mendella is currently accepting new patients.
In many cases the outcome is good, and there is most often no problem walking.
Bowlegs that does not go away and is not treated may lead to arthritis in the knees or hips over time.
Contact your provider if your child shows ongoing or worsening bowed legs after age 3.
There is no known way to prevent bowlegs, other than to avoid rickets. Make sure your child is exposed to sunlight and gets the proper amount of vitamin D in their diet.
Summary: While various complex pathologies of the developmental age, such as Infantile Cerebral Palsy or Neuromuscular Diseases, are notoriously considered causes of alteration of locomotor development, it is scarcely known whether conditions much more frequent in the pediatric population, the so-called Paramorphisms or Dysmorphisms, may be associated with more or less noticeable changes in locomotor devel...
Summary: This study is to evaluate the residual torsional deformity in pediatric Genu Varum after coronal plane deformity correction by 8 plate hemi epiphysiodesis.
Published Date: October 31, 2022
Published By: Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Sheffer BW. Osteochondrosis or epiphysitis and other miscellaneous affections. In: Azar FM, Beaty JH, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 14th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 32.
Winell JJ, Baldwin KD, Wells L. Torsional and angular deformities of the limb. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, Shah SS, Tasker RC, Wilson KM, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 695.