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Bowlegs - Overview

Alternative Names

Genu varum

Definition of Bowlegs:

Bowlegs is a condition in which the knees stay wide apart when a person stands with the feet and ankles together. In children under 18 months, it is considered normal.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Infants are born bowlegged because of their folded position in the uterus. The infant's bowed legs begin to straighten once the child starts to walk and the legs begin to bear weight (about 12 to 18 months old).

By around age 3, the child can usually stand with the ankles apart and the knees just touching. If the bowed legs are still present, the child is called bowlegged.

Bowlegs may be caused by illnesses such as:

Blount's disease
Bone dysplasias (abnormal development)
Fractures that do not heal correctly
Lead or fluoride poisoning
Rickets, which is caused by a vitamin D deficiency

Reviewed last on: 11/12/2010
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Canale ST. Osteochondrosis or epiphysitis and other miscellaneous affections. In: Canale ST, Beatty JH, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2007:chap 29.

Rickets

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