Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsExercise and Bow LegsPhysical TherapyLimitationsOther Treatments
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Exercise and Bow Legs
Physical Therapy
Limitations
Other Treatments
Exercise cannot permanently fixbow legsbecause it won’t change the shape of the bone, but there are benefits to exercising and stretching if you have bow legs, medically known asgenu 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 legs and protect your knees. Treatment for bow legs is different for children. Bow legs in children usually resolve as a child grows. If they persist into the toddler years, they can be treated with bracing, physical therapy, or—in rare cases—surgery.
This article discusses the challenges and benefits of exercise when you have bow legs. It also covers tips for how to exercise safely, and what other treatment options might be available.
Maridav / Getty Images
How Exercise Helps With Bow Legs
Exercising can’t correct bow legs, but studies have shown that thigh and hip muscle stretches may have benefits if performed consistently and progressively.
Exercise is also an important part of maintaining your overall health. Many people with bow legs are able to function and exercise without pain or problems, but it is important to choose lower-impact exercises that are less likely to lead to future knee problems.
Exercise can help you manage your weight, which can help prevent joint problems. Being obese is an additional risk factor for knee osteoarthritis.
The medical term for bow legs is genu varum. It is theopposite of knock knees (genu valgus), in which your knees bend inwards.
Stretches for Bow Legs
By taking care of yourkneesand exercising properly, you may even prevent problems. For instance, stretching and strengthening your hips and legs will help keep your knees healthy.
Some exercises may also help straighten your legs, though they can’t completely correct the problem. A small study that looked at exercise in college students with bow legs found that 60 minutes of hamstring and adductor stretches or resistance band exercises performed three times a week for four weeks helped reduce the space between the knees and improve stability.Some of these exercises included:
The hamstrings are the muscles that extend your hip and knee, and the adductor muscles connect the pelvic bone and the inner thigh and knee.
Balance Exercise for Bow Legs
Research indicates you may have slight balance impairments if you have bow legs, especially when moving in a side-to-side direction.This may be due to changes in your center of mass with altered foot, ankle, and hip positions occurring with bow legs.
You may also need to improve yourproprioception, which is sensing your body’s movements. Balance exercises can help improve your function in your daily activities and possibly help prevent falls.
Some good ideas may include:
Before starting any exercise program, check with your healthcare provider and physical therapist. They can help make sure your exercises are safe for you to do.
Recommended Activities
Exercises that have a lower impact or no impact will better preserve your knee health. They can limit the amount of force through your knee joints and prevent wear-and-tear problems.
If you have lower leg pain already, you may wish to find non-impact exercises to do. This includes cycling, swimming, rowing, yoga, pilates, rollerblading, tai chi, and resistance band training.
RecommendedSwimmingCyclingRowingYogaPilatesTai chiNot RecommendedRunningSoccerAerobicsBasketballTennisVolleyball
RecommendedSwimmingCyclingRowingYogaPilatesTai chi
Swimming
Cycling
Rowing
Yoga
Pilates
Tai chi
Not RecommendedRunningSoccerAerobicsBasketballTennisVolleyball
Running
Soccer
Aerobics
Basketball
Tennis
Volleyball
Physical Therapy for Bow Legs
Aphysical therapist (PT)who specializes in orthopedic conditions can assess your legs and tailor an exercise program that is safe and effective for you. They can suggest activities that are low-impact to help protect the knees and modify exercises to make them safer.
Your PT can also work with you on exercises to help improve balance and keep your legs and knees in alignment. Physical therapists call this neuromuscular training, which helps improve body movements and stability.
Limitations of Exercise for Bow Legs
While the benefits of exercise invariably outweigh the risks, persons with bow legs are at risk of further compromising joints and ligaments if they engage in high-impact activities that place excess pressure on the knees (as well as the hips and ankles).
While this will occur with common activities such aswalking, the stresses are magnified with high-impact exercises like running.
1:41Click Play to Learn About Exercising When You Have Bow Legs
1:41
Click Play to Learn About Exercising When You Have Bow Legs
Compromised Joints
Bow legs create a gap on the outer part, or lateral aspect, of your knee joint. At the same time, the medial or inside part of your knees may be compressed.
Genu varum may affect how your hips and ankles move, too. You may face a slightly increased risk of problems in those joints while exercising.
What exercises are unsafe with bow legs?There are no hard and fast rules, but sports that involve a lot of running and/or jumping along with sudden changes in direction should be approached with caution. This includes soccer, tennis, football, volleyball, basketball, and long-distance running.
What exercises are unsafe with bow legs?
There are no hard and fast rules, but sports that involve a lot of running and/or jumping along with sudden changes in direction should be approached with caution. This includes soccer, tennis, football, volleyball, basketball, and long-distance running.
Safety Tips
Keeping your knees in alignment during exercise may help to improve your knee position and minimize your risk of injury.
Other Treatment Options
If you have knee pain or have had an injury, check with your healthcare provider before starting any exercise program. A medical professional can help ensure that you are exercising properly if you have bow legs.
Your healthcare provider may recommend shoe inserts or knee support in addition to a modified exercise program.
If you have bow legs and do high-impact activities such as running, you might be a good candidate for anorthotic. This is a shoe insert specially crafted to correct the way you walk. Consult with a footwear expert or podiatrist to determine which type of shoe or insert will provide the best foot mechanics. You may need a prescription orthotic.
Children With Bow Legs
Most cases of bow legs in children will correct themselves as the child grows. Bow legs that persist into the toddler years may need treatment.
Corrective braces are more commonly used for children with bow legs who need intervention. These include a modified knee-ankle-foot device worn both day and night. Braces are not generally used to correct bow legs in adults.
How a BAPS Board Is Used in Physical Therapy
Surgery
Osteotomyis a surgical procedure that involves fracturing and reshaping the tibia (shin bone) or femur (thigh bone) with screws and a metal plate. Some procedures involve both of these bones.
The specific surgical procedure your healthcare provider will use depends on where the bowing occurs and how severe it is.
Most healthcare providers will perform surgery only if the bowing is severe enough to cause symptoms such as pain or loss of function. Most of the time, surgeons will not do an osteotomy simply to correct the appearance of bow legs.
Summary
When you have bow legs, exercise can be challenging, but it can also help improve the health of your joints.
Because bow legs can alter your knees' structure, it can affect how your legs move. This can lead to an increased risk of knee, hip, and ankle issues. You may also have more problems with balance and stability.
Your doctor or physical therapist can give you advice about exercises that would be safe and effective for you. In more severe cases, surgery may be required.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Park S, Ro H, Namkoong S.The effect of stretching and elastic band exercises on knee space distance and plantar pressure distribution during walking in young individuals with genu varum.J Korean Soc Phys Med. 2017;12(1):83-91. doi:10.13066/kspm.2017.12.1.83Vijayakumar K, Dineshkumar D.Effects of therapeutic weight loss exercises on obese individuals with genu valgum deformity.Indian J Public Health Res Dev.2020;11(9):184-9. doi:10.37506/ijphrd.v11i9.11007Samaei A, Bakhtiary AH, Elham F, Rezasoltani A.Effects of genu varum deformity on postural stability.Int J Sports Med. 2012;33(6):469-73. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1301331Choi J, Kim J, Choi M, Kim M.The effect of exercise programs on genu varum persons.J Kor Soc Integr Med.2013;1(1):87-96. doi:10.15268/ksim.2013.1.1.087Thaller PH, Furmetz J, Chen F, Degen N, Manz KM, Wolf F.Bowlegs and intensive football training in children and adolescents.Dtsch Arztebl Int.2018 Jun;115(24):401-8.Asadi K, Mirbolook A, Heidarzadeh A, Mardani kivi M, Emami meybodi MK, Rouhi rad M.Association of soccer and genu varum in adolescents.Trauma Mon. 2015;20(2):e17184. doi:10.5812/traumamon.17184Aiyegbusi AI, Tella BA, Sanusi GA.Is genu varum a risk factor for the prevalence and severity of achilles tendinopathy? A cross-sectional study of Nigerian elite track and field athletes.Niger Postgrad Med J. 2020;27(2):87-92. doi:10.4103/npmj.npmj_179_19Tohma Y, Fujisawa Y, Takeuchi R, Tanaka Y.Important points regarding high tibial osteotomy for asymptomatic bowleg correction in younger patients.J Orthop. 2017;14(1):207-210. doi:10.1016/j.jor.2016.12.009
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Park S, Ro H, Namkoong S.The effect of stretching and elastic band exercises on knee space distance and plantar pressure distribution during walking in young individuals with genu varum.J Korean Soc Phys Med. 2017;12(1):83-91. doi:10.13066/kspm.2017.12.1.83Vijayakumar K, Dineshkumar D.Effects of therapeutic weight loss exercises on obese individuals with genu valgum deformity.Indian J Public Health Res Dev.2020;11(9):184-9. doi:10.37506/ijphrd.v11i9.11007Samaei A, Bakhtiary AH, Elham F, Rezasoltani A.Effects of genu varum deformity on postural stability.Int J Sports Med. 2012;33(6):469-73. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1301331Choi J, Kim J, Choi M, Kim M.The effect of exercise programs on genu varum persons.J Kor Soc Integr Med.2013;1(1):87-96. doi:10.15268/ksim.2013.1.1.087Thaller PH, Furmetz J, Chen F, Degen N, Manz KM, Wolf F.Bowlegs and intensive football training in children and adolescents.Dtsch Arztebl Int.2018 Jun;115(24):401-8.Asadi K, Mirbolook A, Heidarzadeh A, Mardani kivi M, Emami meybodi MK, Rouhi rad M.Association of soccer and genu varum in adolescents.Trauma Mon. 2015;20(2):e17184. doi:10.5812/traumamon.17184Aiyegbusi AI, Tella BA, Sanusi GA.Is genu varum a risk factor for the prevalence and severity of achilles tendinopathy? A cross-sectional study of Nigerian elite track and field athletes.Niger Postgrad Med J. 2020;27(2):87-92. doi:10.4103/npmj.npmj_179_19Tohma Y, Fujisawa Y, Takeuchi R, Tanaka Y.Important points regarding high tibial osteotomy for asymptomatic bowleg correction in younger patients.J Orthop. 2017;14(1):207-210. doi:10.1016/j.jor.2016.12.009
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Park S, Ro H, Namkoong S.The effect of stretching and elastic band exercises on knee space distance and plantar pressure distribution during walking in young individuals with genu varum.J Korean Soc Phys Med. 2017;12(1):83-91. doi:10.13066/kspm.2017.12.1.83Vijayakumar K, Dineshkumar D.Effects of therapeutic weight loss exercises on obese individuals with genu valgum deformity.Indian J Public Health Res Dev.2020;11(9):184-9. doi:10.37506/ijphrd.v11i9.11007Samaei A, Bakhtiary AH, Elham F, Rezasoltani A.Effects of genu varum deformity on postural stability.Int J Sports Med. 2012;33(6):469-73. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1301331Choi J, Kim J, Choi M, Kim M.The effect of exercise programs on genu varum persons.J Kor Soc Integr Med.2013;1(1):87-96. doi:10.15268/ksim.2013.1.1.087Thaller PH, Furmetz J, Chen F, Degen N, Manz KM, Wolf F.Bowlegs and intensive football training in children and adolescents.Dtsch Arztebl Int.2018 Jun;115(24):401-8.Asadi K, Mirbolook A, Heidarzadeh A, Mardani kivi M, Emami meybodi MK, Rouhi rad M.Association of soccer and genu varum in adolescents.Trauma Mon. 2015;20(2):e17184. doi:10.5812/traumamon.17184Aiyegbusi AI, Tella BA, Sanusi GA.Is genu varum a risk factor for the prevalence and severity of achilles tendinopathy? A cross-sectional study of Nigerian elite track and field athletes.Niger Postgrad Med J. 2020;27(2):87-92. doi:10.4103/npmj.npmj_179_19Tohma Y, Fujisawa Y, Takeuchi R, Tanaka Y.Important points regarding high tibial osteotomy for asymptomatic bowleg correction in younger patients.J Orthop. 2017;14(1):207-210. doi:10.1016/j.jor.2016.12.009
Park S, Ro H, Namkoong S.The effect of stretching and elastic band exercises on knee space distance and plantar pressure distribution during walking in young individuals with genu varum.J Korean Soc Phys Med. 2017;12(1):83-91. doi:10.13066/kspm.2017.12.1.83
Vijayakumar K, Dineshkumar D.Effects of therapeutic weight loss exercises on obese individuals with genu valgum deformity.Indian J Public Health Res Dev.2020;11(9):184-9. doi:10.37506/ijphrd.v11i9.11007
Samaei A, Bakhtiary AH, Elham F, Rezasoltani A.Effects of genu varum deformity on postural stability.Int J Sports Med. 2012;33(6):469-73. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1301331
Choi J, Kim J, Choi M, Kim M.The effect of exercise programs on genu varum persons.J Kor Soc Integr Med.2013;1(1):87-96. doi:10.15268/ksim.2013.1.1.087
Thaller PH, Furmetz J, Chen F, Degen N, Manz KM, Wolf F.Bowlegs and intensive football training in children and adolescents.Dtsch Arztebl Int.2018 Jun;115(24):401-8.
Asadi K, Mirbolook A, Heidarzadeh A, Mardani kivi M, Emami meybodi MK, Rouhi rad M.Association of soccer and genu varum in adolescents.Trauma Mon. 2015;20(2):e17184. doi:10.5812/traumamon.17184
Aiyegbusi AI, Tella BA, Sanusi GA.Is genu varum a risk factor for the prevalence and severity of achilles tendinopathy? A cross-sectional study of Nigerian elite track and field athletes.Niger Postgrad Med J. 2020;27(2):87-92. doi:10.4103/npmj.npmj_179_19
Tohma Y, Fujisawa Y, Takeuchi R, Tanaka Y.Important points regarding high tibial osteotomy for asymptomatic bowleg correction in younger patients.J Orthop. 2017;14(1):207-210. doi:10.1016/j.jor.2016.12.009
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