Today, we will focus on the misalignment of the knees. Genu varum, also known as bowlegs, means when you bring your heels together, your knees cannot touch each other due to knee inversion. Additionally, genu valgum commonly called knock knees, where the legs are curved inwards so that the knees touch and the feet are displaced outwards.
These deviations are normal for toddlers and children. Since the babies kept their legs bent the whole time while in the belly, they will be bowlegged at first and become knocked knees around the age of 2 to 4 due to the pendulum phenomenon. Eventually, the legs will become straight again.
Other diseases could be the cause of genu varum, including rickets - lack of calcium and vitamin D. More to that, misalignment over the hips or ankles can also be the result of genu varum and valgum. For instance, anterior pelvic tilt can lead to genu valgum (knock knees). The weakness over the glute muscles causes internal rotation of the femur and tightness over the hip adductors. This also implies posterior pelvic tilt to genu varum (bowlegs).
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