What Do You Need To Know About Knock knees?
If you or your child has knock-knees, you may be wondering how serious the situation is. Whether or if you require knock knee treatment is determined by a number of criteria, including your symptoms. The symptoms of knock knees differ from person to person. A person is knocked kneed when his or her knees point inward and contact, but his or her ankles do not. This is a typical aspect of a child’s development as they learn to stand, walk, and run on their own.
By the time a youngster reaches the age of three, knock knees are more noticeable. This limb abnormality will, however, become less evident as the youngster grows older. This angular malformation normally causes both of the child’s knees to curve inward and contact, however in certain cases, just one knee knocks while the other remains straight. By the age of eight, the child’s knock knees should have corrected themselves (5 to 9 degrees). If the knocking of the knees does not go away by this age, there’s a significant probability it’s due to an underlying ailment.
Even in persons with only slight/mild knock knees, the symptoms are frequently highly evident. The following are some of the most common symptoms of this leg deformity:
- Unequal knee angles
- Knock knees at an angle more than 15 degrees
- Problems with walking
- A limp
- Pain in the knee
- Arthritis symptoms
- Knees that touch
- Inwardly curved legs
- Feet too far apart
- Diagnosis
If you’re experiencing any of these knock knee symptoms, you should see a doctor right once. A trained doctor will be able to determine whether or not you have knock knees. Not only will they tell you if you’re knock kneed, but they’ll also tell you how serious the problem is if you are. The doctor will determine this by evaluating your legs and asking you about any walking issues or knee discomfort you may be experiencing. Aside from looking at your legs, the doctor will most likely take some measures to see if the gap between your ankles while standing is larger than 8 cm.
The doctor may recommend you to a bone and joint specialist for an X-ray examination of your legs to rule out a fracture or bone disease as the reason of your knock knees. Blood tests may be performed in some circumstances to screen for underlying disorders that are causing the limb deformity. Always remember that a minor knock knee is quite normal and should not cause any concerns. If an adult or child has severe knock knees, treatment with braces, orthotics, exercises, or surgery may be required to avoid more serious consequences such as arthritis.
Surgical procedures have a high success rate, but they should only be done if they are the only choice for correcting the problem, and they should be done at the appropriate age. Depending on the degree of the genu valgum and the person’s age, knock knees can be treated without surgery.