Knock Knee Correction With Exercises
Knock knees happen because of weak abductor muscles found on the outside of hips and thighs. They can be corrected with certain exercises mentioned below.
1. Side Lunges
Stand with feet hip-width apart and arms in front of your chest, and take a big step sideways to your left. Bend your knee as your foot comes to the ground and push your hip backward. As you feel a strong contraction on your hip and other thigh, stand up and bring your feet back to the original position. Repeat 10-12 times then switch. Hold a medicine ball in front of your chest for more resistance. This helps your abductors, hamstrings and quadriceps.
3. Cable Abduction
This exercise for knock knee correction helps your outer thighs and hips with one side of a cable machine. Fasten an ankle cuff around your lower-right leg and keep the setting low. Stand with the stack of weight facing your left shoulder. In an arcing motion, lift your leg sideways to your right as high as possible then lower slowly. Repeat 10-12 times then switch.
4. Lying Abduction
Lie on your left side with your legs one over the other. Lift your right leg at an angle of 45 degrees, hold for a second, and then lower your leg. Repeat 10-12 times then switch. Hold a dumbbell against your thigh for extra resistance.
2. Side Step-ups
5. Wall Abductor Squeeze
6. Straight Leg Lift
7. Wall Squats
9. Knee Press
8. Hamstring Curls
Why Wont My Legs Go Straight
If you are unable to do this without your pelvis tilting, chances are you have tight hamstrings. Sit on the floor with one knee bent up, foot on the floor, and the other leg straight out in front of you. If you cant touch your toes while keeping your knee straight, chances are you have tight hamstrings.
Osteoarthritis And Rheumatoid Arthritis
Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis affect the joints. Osteoarthritis, or wear-and-tear arthritis, affects nearly 14% of adults older than 25 and almost 34% of those over 65. Rheumatoid arthritis, though less common, affects about 1.3 million American adults.
Both conditions result in consistent joint pain, stiffness, and tenderness. As the conditions progress, the knee joint suffers a great deal of pressure, and in an attempt to alleviate that pressure, the joint may twist or rotate, resulting in knock knees.
Treatment
Those who suffer from arthritis can manage the pain through multiple methods. Non-operative methods include anti-inflammatory medications, weight loss, and physical therapy. If the knee doesnt respond to nonoperative methods, osteotomy may realign the knees and allow the joints to heal.
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Knee Valgus: How To Fix Knock Knees
Have you ever noticed that your knees bend inward?
Youre not alone.
Knee valgus, knock knees, or genu valgum all indicate the same thing: when someones knees bend inward toward the middle of the body.
For many people, especially young children, knee valgus isnt a huge cause for concern. However, if you or someone you know has knock knees, then its essential that you have the information needed to decide if treatment is right for you.
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How Do I Fix My K Leg
Treatment for mild cases of knock knee in children or adolescents may include braces to help bones grow in the correct position. If a gradual correction does not occur, surgery may be recommended. In the growing child, guided-growth minimal-incision surgery may be used to encourage the leg to gradually grow straight.
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Knee Braces & Orthotics
Some doctors will suggest that patients with knock knees try a knee brace to help alleviate some of the issues associated with the condition. While you can buy knee braces over the counter at many pharmacies, its generally best to discuss your options with a specialist physician first.
Another treatment option for some adults with mild knee valgus is orthotics. This is particularly useful for some adults whose knee valgus is caused by osteoarthritis. While orthotics are also available over the counter , its usually best to first consult with a podiatrist or orthopedist about custom options.
What Are The Symptoms Of Knock Knees
Knock knees are a normal part of development and may not cause any symptoms. However, if they persist beyond a particular age, they may cause discomfort and pain in the legs.
If knocked knees is due to a medical cause and results in deformity, there may be difficulty in walking. Pain and resultant changes in gait, awkward walking may be noticed. Changes in normal posture may also affect other joints and cause pain and difficulty in movement.
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Symptoms For Knock Knee In Adults
Knock knees in adults will usually display much more serious symptoms because the misalignment of the legs and knees is severe. If youre an adult and notice one or more of these symptoms listed below you should definitely begin looking into different treatments for knock knees:
- You have a limp when you try to walk or difficulty walking.
- You have moderate to severe knee pain or pain in your hip area.
- You have an almost lopsided or crooked appearance with your legs when you stand.
- You feel moderate to severe soreness in your joints to the point you feel stiff.
If you notice one or more of these symptoms listed above its time to consider your options for knock knee treatment.
What Is Bow Legs
Bow legs, or by its medical name Genu Varum, is a condition where, if when you stand with your feet and ankles together, there is a wide gap between your knees. It may be that only one leg is bowed or it could be both.
The majority of babies are born with bow legs simply because of how they are positioned within their mothers womb.
It is most noticeable when the child is around twelve months old or by the time they are standing and walking but, by the time the child is around two to three years old and fully mobile, the problem tends to sort itself out.
If the problem persists beyond three years of age, treatment may be necessary such as leg braces, these will be used until the bones in the legs have straightened through growth.
Braces wont be of much help fixing bow legs in adults with, for example, a bent tibia, because our bones have already fully grown, so dont be tempted to go out and buy such thing unless recommended by your GP.
It might be that you are born with bow legs, if it didnt improve and you have never had treatment, still have it as a teenager or adult, or it may be that the condition is the result of an injury.
If left, your knees will continue to take increased pressure. This added pressure can eventually lead to arthritis in the knees which, in turn, leads to pain and even decreased movement capabilities.
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How Long Will It Take To Treat Knee Knocking With Exercises
How long it takes to treat your knee knock without surgery using exercises like the ones above will depend on the severity of your alignment problem, as well as other factors like if youre overweight.
Extra weight can put a lot of unnecessary burden on the knees and cause it to take longer than normal for both knock knees and bowlegs to correct themselves.
Yes, its possible for knock knees to be corrected in adults by exercise but you have to be consistent. Start performing these low-impact exercises to strengthen your knees and leg muscles daily so that your knock knee leg can be corrected gradually.
There are also yoga exercises that can correct your knock knees by stretching and strengthening the appropriate bones until they grow in the correct position.
If a gradual correction does not occur, surgery is usually whats recommended. In order to correct severe knock knees limb lengthening surgery is whats required.
What Causes Pathological Knock Knees
Pathological knock knees can occur in some neurological conditions, such as cerebral palsy or spina bifida, as a result of the altered muscle pull on the bones.
So pathological knock knees may be one of the early signs of an underlying disorder. Bone diseases resulting from poor mineralisation, such as rickets, may present through large knee angles during childhood. When pathological knock knees are seen in combination with short stature and other bone and joint misalignment, a skeletal dysplasia or metabolic bone disorder may be the cause.
Obesity during adolescence is also associated with more severe knock knees, and is more commonly seen in children with flat feet and those with hypermobile joints.
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How Do I Know If I Run With Knock Knees
This is a tricky one to assess on yourself but a clue that you are running with knock knees is signs of wear on your running pants on the inside of the knee or bruising on the inside of your knees.
Another way to look at it is to film yourself running from behind. You can do this outside or on a treadmill and just use your phone. It is often easier if you use the Hudl technique app as you can then more through the video frame by frame.
You want to pause the video at the point of maximal loading. That is when your head is at its lowest point in the gait cycle and the time when the knees pass each other. If you are going into significant dynamic valgus, this will be the time when it is most pronounced.
Now you are looking for the knee window. The knee window is the amount of space between the two knees as one passes the other at the point of maximal loading.
We want to see an open knee window, meaning that there is some air/daylight visible between the knees as they pass each other. An open knee window indicates good hip/pelvis control.
A closed knee window however, is when the knees are contacting each other as they pass. There is no air/daylight visible between the knees, hence a closed knee window. A closed knee window indicates a suboptimal pattern of hip/pelvis control.
What Are The Treatment Options For Knock Knees
In most cases, children with knock knees do not need medical treatment. The most common treatment for children between 2 and 5 years old is close observation. Up to 99 percent of children with knock knees grow out of the condition by the time they turn 7. Children do not need to avoid physical activity, wear braces or special shoes, or do any special exercises.
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Learn How To Fix Bow Legs And Knock Knees Without The Need Of Surgery
Have you had enough of crooked wonky legs?
If so, fixing them will be one of your up most priorities.
Im going to show you what causes bow legs and what causes knock knees while also showing you some of the best ways in which you can improve them both.
Although having bow legs or knock knees is not necessarily a postural problem, I feel both have enough significance to include when it comes down to correct postural alignment.
Both are an incorrect alignment in your legs and cause your knees to take on added pressure, which can lead to decreased movement capabilities, arthritis and potentially even pain.
As you know, your legs carry whatever is above them, they support everything, the lower down your leg means more weight is carried on that part of your body.
If you have either bow legs or knock knees, both of which cause added pressure on your knees, you should look to take steps to improve them in order to release this added pressure and prevent further damage being done.
While bow legs and knock knees are most common in young children, older children or adults can be affect by them too.
What Youll Learn Quick Links
Surgery is usually only necessary in severe cases, fortunately, in the cases where it is not severe, there are things you can do to help straighten these issues out.
What Is The Outlook For Genu Valgum
In the vast majority of cases, parents can expect that a childs genu valgum will resolve by age 8.
For older children and adults with genu valgum, a course of physical therapy and exercises can help realign their knees. It can also strengthen surrounding muscles and avoid stress damage to other joints.
If these efforts arent successful, surgery may be performed to realign your knees.
In time, untreated knee misalignment can cause pain and problems in functioning. One
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Side Lying Hip Abduction
If youre looking for an easy way to treat knock knees with stretches and exercises one of the best things you can begin doing is the side lying hip abduction exercise.
Like the name suggests the main muscles this exercise helps strengthen are your hip abductors which include the tensor fasciae latae, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.
As mentioned earlier, strengthening these muscles is essential to preventing your knees from turning inward and creating a knock kneed effect.
Moreover, this knee valgus exercise can help reduce many knock knee symptoms such as knee pain, balance problems, and improper gait.
To do the side lying hip abduction follow the steps below:
What To Do Next
1.Any questions?
2. Come join me on the . Lets keep in touch!
3. Start doing the exercises!
The content presented on this blog post is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. It exists for informational purposes only. Use of the content on this blog post is at your sole risk. For more information: Medical disclaimer.
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Knock Knees Are Just A Body Strategy
With the knees having to succumb to the loads placed on them, they are a mechanical strategy because somewhere another joint is not moving enough or moving too much. Its through investigating the joints that we unlock the reasons for the knock knees, and then re-train the root cause rather than focusing on the knee.
We love working with people with knock knees. There is great potential for changing the movement pattern of the knee!
Symptoms Of Knock Knees
If someone with knock knees stands with their knees together, their lower legs will be spread out so their feet and ankles are further apart than normal.
A small distance between the ankles is normal, but in people with knock knees this gap can be up to 8cm or more.
Knock knees don’t usually cause any other problems, although a few severe cases may cause knee pain, a limp or difficulty walking.
Knock knees that don’t improve on their own can also place your knees under extra pressure, which may increase your risk of developing arthritis.
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What Can Cause Knock Knees Or Genu Valgum
Knock knees are normal in young children but if the problem persists or appears later in life, there may be an underlying medical cause.
Some of the causes that can contribute to knock knees include
- Medical conditions resulting from nutritional deficiencies like rickets, osteomalacia or scurvy can affect the formation of bones and cause knocking of knees.2
- Bone infection like osteomyelitis can causes deformity of knees.
- Injury to the shin bone, which is responsible for growth, can cause knock knee. This may be present only in only one leg.
- Certain rare genetic conditions may be a cause of such bony deformities.
- Adults may show knock knees or genu valgum due to a previous injury or a joint condition like osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
- Obesity can lead to gait changes, which can make it appear like knocked knees.
Exercises To Fix Knock Knees
Exercise 1 Side Leg Raises
Having unstable hips can be an underlying cause for your knock knees, this exercise is aimed at strengthening your gluteus medius which helps to stabilize your hips, this in turn helps to correct knock knees.
Exercise 2 Hip Extensions
Exercise 3 Straight Leg Raises
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