Knee valgus? This can be corrected quickly

Knee valgus is a common disease in children. Usually, there are many reasons for knee valgus. It may be caused by congenital heredity, acquired cartilage development disorder or abnormal development, and external trauma can easily lead to knee valgus. Long-term knee valgus can easily lead to child's leg deformity, which will affect normal life and correction. There are many ways to correct knee valgus. It can be treated through surgical therapy, or you can wear protective gear on the legs to correct the correct walking posture of the legs. You can practice correct walking posture more often.

Causes

There are three main causes of X-shaped legs. One is rickets in children, one is congenital inheritance, and a small part is the sequelae caused by cartilage development disorders, trauma, fractures, etc. This leg deformity not only affects shape and fitness, but also has a great impact on human health. Knee valgus or varus destroys the normal force distribution of the knee joint, increasing the stress on one side of the joint and reducing it on the opposite side. At the same time, due to the change in the force line of the lower limbs, the friction between the patella and femur increases. If this goes on for a long time, it will cause pain in the knee joint when walking, and the movement of the joint will also be affected, which can easily lead to osteoarthritis of the knee. Correcting this leg shape can not only enhance the fitness of the body, but also improve the imbalance of stress in the knee joint.

Disease hazards

In a normal knee joint, pressure is evenly distributed on the joint surface. For people with X-shaped legs, due to the valgus of the knee joint, too much body weight is concentrated on the outer joint surface of the knee joint. At the same time, the force line of the lower limbs is poor, and the friction between the patella and femur increases, which can easily lead to patellar softening. Excessive pressure and friction can cause wear of the lateral cartilage surface of the knee joint, collapse of the tibial plateau, and secondary osteoarthritis. As we get older, we are more likely to experience joint pain, which affects our normal walking activities.

Diagnostic points

The appearance characteristics can be directly identified, and the full-length X-ray of the lower limb can determine the angle and degree of valgus deformity.

Treatment

Correction methods for X-shaped legs include: surgery, splints, leg wraps, exercise, corrective insoles, etc. Children with rickets must receive formal and systematic rickets treatment; at the same time, care should be taken not to let children learn to walk too early.

Surgery is indicated for patients with bony deformities. Through surgical osteotomy + internal fixation correction, the normal limb force line and appearance can be restored immediately.

For severe genu valgum deformity, a new osteotomy + internal fixation correction in the first stage may cause tension and traction on nerves and blood vessels, which may easily lead to related complications. Therefore, osteotomy and correction with the assistance of an external fixator can be used to slowly correct the deformity, avoid neurological and vascular complications, and the surgery is also minimally invasive.

The principles of non-surgical correction methods are basically the same, which is to relax the lateral collateral ligament of the knee joint and restore the stable structure of the inner and outer sides of the knee joint. This causes the tibia to be varus and achieve the correction goal. The advantages of non-surgical correction methods are low cost and low risk, but the disadvantages are active treatment, which is slow to take effect and requires long-term persistence. Without perseverance, the purpose of correction cannot be achieved.

Follow-up guidance

1. Follow up regularly and perform correct functional exercises according to doctor's orders.

2. The next treatment plan should be decided based on the effectiveness of conservative treatment.