Crooked legs can cause osteoarthritis and flat feet

Curvature of the lower legs can be a congenital or acquired defect, depend on bone deformity and soft tissue maldistribution, be a cosmetic defect and a serious medical problem. Crooked legs cause an increased load on the joints of the hips, knees and feet, become the cause of the development of flat feet, deforming arthrosis of the knee joint. The irregular shape of the legs often becomes the reason for contacting a plastic surgeon. If we are talking about an aesthetic defect, it can be corrected with a set of exercises or plastic surgery of the legs. Bone deformities may require surgery.

 Types of curvature of the lower leg and features of manifestation

The correct form of the legs can boast of those who have a straight line down from the head of the hip joint crosses the middle of the patella and falls between the first and second toes of the foot. Ideally, the shins touch in three places – in the knee joint, upper third of the lower leg and ankles. If the contour of the legs is broken, this causes an uneven load on the joints and the foot.

Shin curvature can be true – when  the tibia is deformed, and false – when there is no bone deformity, but the soft tissues of the lower leg are distributed in such a way that they create the illusion of crooked legs. The true curvature of the legs is valgus (x-shaped) and varus (o-shaped). Valgus curvature of the legs is considered a defect if the angle of deviation between the ankles is more than 10°. The varus curvature of the legs forms the contour of the letter O. Both & nbsp; types of curvature of the legs significantly deform the foot, causing it to twist. In addition, crooked legs cause an uneven redistribution of the load from body weight on the knee and hip joints, leading to & nbsp; their deformations.

 Causes of shin curvature:

• congenital bone deformities, diseases of the musculoskeletal system;
• fetal hypoxia, prematurity;
• severe forms of rickets in childhood;
• inflammatory diseases of bone tissue;
• underdevelopment of the muscle tissue of the legs;
• hypotrophy of the calf muscles due to previous neurological diseases;
• disturbance of mineral metabolism;
• calcium and vitamin D deficiency;
• inadequate loading of the feet causing shin curvature;
• injuries;
• diseases of the joints.

 Different ways to correct crooked shins

If we are talking about the fact that crooked legs are an aesthetic flaw and the curvature of the legs is caused by underdevelopment of muscles or their asymmetry, their deformation, then the correction is carried out using contour plastics. Crooked legs are corrected by inserting implants or using lipofilling.

When the curvature of the legs is due to bone deformities, an orthopedic operation is prescribed, when the bone is dissected, a wedge-shaped resection of the area is performed  bone, then the aligned bone is held together with clamps or screws. If necessary, reconstructive chondroplasty is performed simultaneously.

It is recommended to correct crooked shins no earlier than 18 years of age, when the final growth spurt occurs. If the technique of the operation is followed, the patient receives a stable long-term result without the need for repeated corrections.