Hello friends. Im 29, mother to 4 wonderful girls 11,5,2,1 ;) and wife to am amazing man.I am bow legged and it has affected my life tremendously, I often feel like no one understands what it's like to not be able to wear dresses, no shorts, no skirts, no bathing suits and no lingerie. When I have tried wearing these, people stare and laugh and i feel so embarrassed that i chose to skip these articles. I never had anyone in my life to help me deal with my difference, so I always felt really bad about it, and still do. I have a wonderful and loving husband who adores me just the way I am, and he says he loves my legs, still it is not enough for me to get over it. We have a 5 year old daughter who is the spitting image of me, unfortunately this includes being bow legged. I guess I was kinda hoping I was just imagining it, until about 3-4 months ago when it became clear to me that she IS going to be bow legged just like me. I don't want her to feel about her body like I do. So I am wondering is there anything that can be done now to fix her legs? I just set up an appointment to have her asessed but thats not till another 2 weeks......meanwhile I'd like to know if there is anything out there that could be done. TIA!!
I have heard of kids who wore braces for a while (maybe just at night) to fix leg problems. So maybe something like that? I hope you find ansers for your child, and I engourage you to ask this questions for yourself as well.
My older sister was bow legged and she wore braces at night while she slept. I can't remember what ages. It had to be 5 or later because I'm a year and a half younger and I don't think I'd remember earlier than that. She had to wear them for a couple years. Her son was bow legged and he also had to wear braces. For him they started them when he was 1, just when he began to walk. Both of them have straight legs now. Make sure you go to a pediatric orthopedist, not just a pediatrician. A specialist is going to give you better direction.
I think it depends on what's going on with the legs. If they aren't causing her pain, affect her back or hips I'd leave it alone and get some counseling for yourself. There are plenty of ways to fix being bow-legged, most of them worse than the actual problem itself. A leg brace, corrective shoes and of course surgery ... where they break and/or cut the bones ... aren't any fun either.
A girlfriend of mine had bone issues which caused her legs to be SEVERELY bowed. She eventually had to have surgery to fix it, which trust me was a HORRIBLE process for her. For her however the bow-legs were affecting her back and her hip joints.
HOWEVER she wore skirts and dresses and shorts and bikini's and sexy undies and such ALL the time. Those who didn't like it could go die :)
You can try those brown corrective shoes. My A. was prescribed them for her son, and they made a HUGE improvement on his bow legs. I think she found them at Payless.
I had to wear the shoes too. My right leg turned in so much that it almost appeared broken. Still turns in a little when I'm exhausted after walking all day. But you would never really know.
There is more that can be done in children than in adults, with leg braces and such. But still, there are corrective surgeries even for adults:
http://bow-legged.com/bow-legged-adults-is-there-a-solution/
The biggest part about a child's self perception is how the parents feel about themselves and how they express it. If you exclaim, "wow, these skirts make my legs look great", then your daughter will come to view her own body the same way. If you are perpetually hiding your legs, and claiming how horrid your legs look, it might make your daughter feel self conscious. Sometimes it's hard to get over our bodies that don't look like the magazine covers we see, but that does not mean we are not beautiful in our own unique ways. As a parent you need to set the example so that you can pave the way for a healthy self image later on down the road. Also, I might add that having your husband comment on the attractiveness of his children goes a LONG way in helping to establish a positive self image early on.
I have been told that everyone is slightly bow-legged. So far as I know there is nothing that can be done.
Okay this will sound strange but my mother sent me to modeling school so I could learn to walk and stand properly. She was a strange woman, I digress. They tell you to stand with one foot pointing slightly out and the other heel at the arch of that foot with the other foot pointing slightly out so no one can see the bow in your legs. It is that common.
A friend's son had leg issues when he was young - thought it was bow-leg. He was in a brace for the first several months of his life. I would think that once the bones are fully formed (not soft and pliable like an infant's) it would be much more difficult and take much longer to correct. But I'm sure there's a way.
I believe that it can be fixed with surgery, but I think your daughter needs to be done growing first. Take her to an othapedic doc to find out for sure. I know it's tough but make sure you give her positive things to focus on. Focus more on her being a happy child for now... Talk to the doc and get a game plan set. Do some research on the internet about the condition to see if there is anything out there that can help while she is growing and take that to your doctors appointment with you. :-)
Good luck.
My DS was extremely bow-legged. (My dad used to comment that he looked like he just got off a horse!) His pediatrician said we should let him go barefoot as much as possible and that it would correct itself--that studies were showing that helped. We did that for him and now (10+ years later) no one can tell that he was ever bow-legged. (In fact, people are often amazed when I describe how bow-legged he used to be!) So keep your little girl barefoot/stocking foot as much as possible! :)
