Knock Knee- my son’s story

My son is somewhat knocked knee, seriously, I noticed it about a month ago and I was terrified. I asked my husband to check and he told me that legs do look like that, I was not convinced, he said that because of his height, it looks like knock knee but it is really not. Funny how I never bothered to check it out online till yesterday.

Knock-knee is apparently very normal and common to babies below 7 years and it gets very noticeable when they turn 2 years.

According to my research, children start out as bow legged, because of how they had folded themselves in the womb, as they grow older 12-18 months and learn how to walk, the legs straighten and then from 2-6 years they are knock kneed and straighten again by 7 years.

Knock-knees are most commonly a normal stage of growth in young children. They typically become apparent when a child is 2 to 3 years old, and they often get worse around age 4. Chances are your child’s legs will significantly straighten, without any treatment, by age 7 or 8.

Children who are overweight are more prone to knock-knees, because their bones and joints have trouble supporting their weight.

Knock knee is fairly common in healthy children under six or seven years old. It occurs because a child’s weight falls to the outside of their knee joint, which is a normal part of their growth and development.

In most cases, knock knee corrects itself without the need for treatment. A child’s body undergoes many changes as they grow – this includes their legs, which gradually change shape and become straighter.

If knock knee does not correct itself and the distance between your child’s ankles is greater than 10cm (around four inches), or if their knees are not symmetrical (even), your child may have an underlying health condition or growth problem.

In most cases of knock knee the cause is unknown, although childhood conditions that can be responsible include:

• rickets– a rare condition that affects a child’s bone development and is usually caused by a vitamin D deficiency (sunlight is a source of vitamin D and is also found in oily fish, eggs and fortified spreads and breakfast cereals)
• nutritional conditions – such as scurvy(a vitamin C deficiency), which can adversely affect the development of bones and joints (although this is rare)
• rare genetic conditions – examples include Cohen syndrome, which causes a number of problems, such as moderate to severe learning difficulties, progressive visual problems and unusually bendy joints

How to tell if your baby is knock kneed

• To measure the distance between your child’s ankles, lie them on their back and straighten out their lower limbs. Place their knees together and measure the distance between the insides of their ankles.
• If your child is between two and four years old and has a gap between their ankles of 10cm (around four inches) or less, it will usually correct itself as your child grows. If the gap is greater than 10cm, you should take them to see their GP. A gap of more than 10cm in older children should also be investigated to see if there is an underlying problem.

Some hope

“Out of all the thousands of kids we see for this condition, maybe one in 1,000 won’t straighten naturally. Just about 99 percent of the time, a 3- or 4-year-old with physiologic genu valgum is going to be just fine.”

Samantha Spencer, MD, orthopedic surgeon, Children?s Hospital Boston

NB. Though it is not considered an emergency, you should mention it to your doctor at your next visit.

additional facts

http://www.nhs.uk/

http://www.childrenshospital.org/