Bowlegs is a condition in which the knees stay wide apart when a person stands with her knees and ankles together. The condition is considered normal in children under 18 months.

Babies are born bowlegged  because of their fold position in the mother’s womb. The legs begin to straighten once the child starts to walk and the legs begin to bear weight which is around 12 to 18 months.

By age 3 , the child can usually stand ankles apart and knees just touching. However if bowlegs are still present after this time, the child is called  bowlegged .

This condition may be caused by the following conditions :

• Blount’s disease
• abnormal bone development
• lead or fluoride poisoning
• rickets which is caused by lack of vitamin D
• fractures that do not heal correctly

What are the symptoms of bowlegs ?

Symptoms include the following :

• knees that do not touch when standing with feet  close together ( ankles touching )
• bowed leg continues after age 3
• it is symmetrical which means  bowing in  legs is same on both sides of the body

How is it diagnosed ?

The health care provider can simply diagnose the condition by looking at the child’s legs. The distance between the child’s knees is measured while the child is lying on her back.

He may order a blood test to rule out ricket. An x-ray may be need if :

• the child is older than 3
• bowing gets worse
• bowing is not the same on both sides
• other test results indicate a disease is present

What are the treatment options for bowlegs ?

No treatment is recommended until the condition is extreme. The child needs to be seen by the pediatrician every 6 months.

Special shoes, braces, or casts can be tried if the condition is severe or the child also has another disease. However it is not clear how well these work.  Occasionally surgery  may be done in an adolescent with a severe case.

NOTE

Untreated bowlegs may lead to arthritis in the knees or hips overtime.