Pediatric knock knees
Knock knees occur when a child’s knees are misaligned and turn inward, but the ankles point outward.
What are pediatric knock knees?
Typically becoming apparent when a child is a toddler (age 1 to 3 years), knock knees is a medical condition that is also known as a valgus knee or genu valgum. Girls are more likely to develop knock knees than boys due to their wider hips.
The abnormal rotation of the knees turning inward can cause stress on the hip and knee joints, which can lead to additional disorders as the child grows, including runner’s knee (where the cartilage under the kneecap weakens and deteriorates).
What are the signs and symptoms of pediatric knock knees?
The main symptom of knock knees is an angled appearance of the knee.
Other symptoms include:
Joint stiffness
Knee or hip pain
Problems walking or with a limb
What are the causes of pediatric knock knees?
Knock knees can occur due to a variety of reasons, including:
Bone tumors or bone infections can cause distortions in the bones, causing the bowed appearance.
Family history can be an indicator; children with parents or siblings with knock knees are more likely to also have them.
Rickets causes bone deformities due to vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus deficiencies. Rickets can also be caused by an inherited genetic abnormality that causes the body to not correctly absorb vitamin D.
Fractures can cause knock knees, especially if a broken bone doesn’t heal properly or grows at a different rate than the non-fractured bones.