Hi,
I have fairly bowed legs. My grandfather did too and he’s had to have both of his knees replaced. I’m sure the the skeletal misalignment causes some odd tensions with the muscles and I was wondering what exercises I could do that would help to provide a bit more balance and perhaps improve the longevity of my knees.
Any ideas?
Side
bump.
bowflex,
I’m sure it depends on how deformed the bow is whether it will severly effect you getting surgery later in life. If it is that deformed, a good doctor would be able to recommend either surgery or live with it. If it’s live with it, then you just have to do leg exercises like everybody else, theres no real bow leg exercises.
This is something that should be discussed with a doctor.
It’s definitely a livable thing. My grandfather’s knees weren’t replaced until he was in his late 70’s. I was simply thinking of being a bit more proactive about it.
In other words, I’m sure there are some structural weaknesses (and strengths) created by bowed legs. I’d simply like to tweak a few exercises to help with the weaknesses. For example, I’ve seen where people do lunges with the front leg under tension from a band pulling to one side. So, the question is, if my legs are bowed, which side should the band pull to? Do I need to focus more on abductors or adductors because one set will be “artifically lengthened” due to the skeleton? etc. I doubt most physicians would have good ideas in this realm seeing as how most western medicine is focused on reacting to disease rather than preventing it.
I would recommend contacting someone from Pete Egoscue’s camp, www.egoscue.com. I know he addresses knock kneed exercises in his book Pain Free, and my fiancee has had pain relief from doing the exercises . . . Perhaps in one of his earlier books he addresses bow legs, or you might have to consult someone specifically that is trained in his methods. I applaud you for being proactive and hopefully you figure something out. If you do figure something out pm me as I would be interested.
Thanks mrodock.
Perhaps I have a suspicion that some help might be found in a previous article on common weaknesses in lunges.
When you squat, do your knees “pinch-in”?
Yes, slightly.