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Oct 24, 2025

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Bowlegs or genu varum is a condition where your ankles can touch, but your knees curve outward. Bowlegs are common in infants and toddlers and usually go away without treatment.

(Bowlegs=Genu Varum)

What can cause bowlegs?:

1. Bony deformities. A common deformity is tibial torsion or twisting of the lower leg bone (inward or outward)

2. Blount's disease? Blount's disease is a condition found in children that affects the growth plates around the knee. The disease causes the growth plate near the inside of the knee to either slow down or stop making new bone. Meanwhile, the growth plate near the outside of the knee continues to grow normally.

3. Rickets Rickets is a condition that affects bone development in children. It causes bone pain, poor growth, and soft, weak bones that can lead to bone deformities. Often caused by a vitamin D or calcium deficiency.

4. Osteomalacia or soft bones. Osteomalacia affects both children and adults and is a disease in which the bones don't contain enough bone mineral (mostly calcium and phosphate).

What is the big lie?

Bowlegs CANNOT be changed with exercise. Exercise may make your muscles or bones stronger, but it will now change the shape of your bones. The only way to change the shape of a bone is to break it and straighten it. If you are watching videos on how to correct your bowlegs with exercise, it is a waste of your time.

What may help slightly?

1. Don’t stand with knees locked back into hyperextension – it exaggerates bowlegs and puts more stress on the joint.

2. Replace shoes (if worn out on the outer edge). Can make knee bowing worse

3. Worn-out cartilage on the inside of your knee can cause bowing or make it worse. Knee replacement may help if the knee is painful.

4. If knee ligaments are lax or loose, a knee brace may help provide some relief or slow down the progression of bowing. A brace with hinged metal staves on the side should be tried.

Check out the full Knee Pain Relief Program series of videos, along with downloadable guide sheets, here: https://www.bobandbrad.com/health-programs/knee-pain-relief-program

Bob and Brad discuss the potential causes of bow-leggedness or genu varum. They provide options to assist with lessening the effects, as the shape of the bones will not be changed with exercises, but muscles and bones can be strengthened.