Knock Knees
KNOCK KNEES
Knock knees are angular deformities at the knee, in which the head of deformity points inward. A standing child whose knees touch but whose knees touch but whose ankles do not is usually said to have knock knees. During childhood, knock knees are a stage in normal growth and development (physiologic vagus).
Between birth and 18 months, an outward- turning(varus) alignment from hip to knee to ankle is normal. The alignment returns to neutral as the child grows.
What causes knock knees?
Knock knees are usually part of the normal growth and development of the lower extremities. Some cases, especially in a child who's 6 or older, may be a sign of an underlying bone disease, such as osteomalacia or rickets. Obesity can contribute to knock knees- or can cause gait(walking) problems that resemble, but aren't actually, knock knees. The condition can occasionally result from an injury to the growth area of the shin bone(tibia), which may result in just one knocked knee.
In the course of developing normal alignment of their lower extremities, all young children have knock knees to some degree for a period of time. At the age of 3, more than 20 percent of children have at least a 5 centimeter gap between their ankles. By the age of 7 only 1 percent of children have this gap.
Can knock knees be corrected in adults?
Knock knees may continue after the age of three or four , but by age five most legs straighten. For adults, being slightly knock kneed is a normal variation in alignment; many adults adults are some what knock kneed. This is rarely a problem, and surgery or physical therapy is seldom undertaken to correct it.
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