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By Austin T. Fragomen, MD. Bowlegs, also sometimes called “bow legs” or “bowed legs,” is a common condition where the knees don’t come together when the feet are touching. The medical term for bowlegs is genu varum. This article focuses on bowlegs in adults, including teenagers who have reached skeletal maturity (completed growth).
Bowleg deformity is an incorrect alignment around the knee that can affect people of all ages. The condition is also known by various other common names and medical terms, including bow leg, bandy-leg, bowleg syndrome, bowed legs, varus deformity, genu varum, and tibia vara.
In adults, bowing of the legs can be the result of osteoarthritis or wear-and-tear arthritis of the knees. This condition can wear away the cartilage and surrounding bone of the knee joint. If the wear is more on the inner side of the knee joint, a bow-legged deformity may develop.
Bow legs are normal in young children and usually fix themselves. Look for symptoms like outwardly curved legs, intoeing, or an awkward walk. Children don’t feel pain, but adults may feel discomfort or develop arthritis. Try exercises like squats, yoga, or massage therapy to strengthen your leg muscles and joints.
Exercise cannot permanently fix bow legs because it won’t change the shape of the bone, but there are benefits to exercising and stretching if you have bow legs, medically known as genu varum. Because an adult's bones are fully formed, surgery is the only way to correct bow legs in an adult, although certain exercises may help straighten your ...
Bow legs (also known as "genu varum") occur when a person's legs bend outward and don't touch at the knees, even if their feet and ankles remain together. If left undiagnosed in childhood,...
What causes bow legs in adults? If you are an adult with bow legs, the condition may have developed because of: adult rickets (osteomalacia) which is a vitamin D deficiency that causes the bones to soften and weaken. an injury to the knee. an infection in the knee. brittle bone disease (osteogenesis imperfecta)
