Knock knee surgery
Are you familiar with the knock knee?
What is a knock knee?
What is the reason for knock knee?
Do you want to know what is the right treatment for genu valgum or knock knee?
What is the right surgery for genu valgum?
What are the types of knock knee surgeries?
If you also want to get information about knock knee, we recommend that you read on.
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Introduction
knock knee is a very common deformity. People with this disorder actually have their legs spaced apart when their knees are together, so that their lower limbs will take the shape of the English letter M when they are standing relative to each other. Babies are said to be born with knock feet when they are born.
The reason for this shape and shape of the knees and feet is that the baby shrinks in the mother's womb and around 18 months of age when the baby starts to walk, the lower limbs begin to flatten.
At 36 months, the knees become X-shaped and crossed When puberty occurs in a person, the extension of the limbs will be straight again.
As we explained in the previous section, around the age of 2 to 6, children may naturally have some genu valgum or a knock knee, Characteristic of physiological genu valgum is the symmetry of angles in both lower limbs, And that the child has no pain and no restrictions on his activities means that in fact it is nothing but annoying appearance.
These cases do not require treatment. To better understand what treatment is for other cases of knock knee, read on.
What is the definition of a knock knee?
Doctors call a condition a knock knee in which a person who is standing with his knees together, his legs are apart. This complication is most common in toddlers with their legs turned inward while standing. This position will actually help the toddler be able to maintain balance when standing and thus be able to walk and stand in balance during the first years.
When the child grows up and around the age of seven or eight, the condition improves spontaneously and the weight is evenly distributed on the legs, because in these conditions the child has learned that he can maintain his balance by placing his feet correctly on the ground, and there is no longer need to turn the knees inward to maintain balance.
If the child continues to have a knock after this age, the child should have a medical evaluation.
What are the causes of knock knee and genu valgum?
When we say a toddler, a toddler has a knock knee. The amount of this slight deviation is about 8 degrees. In children, in cases of more severe deviations, you should look for underlying diseases and take the children to the doctor for medical examinations. Among the factors that can cause a knock knee the following can be mentioned:
- Being overweight and obese
- Some genetic diseases
- Rickets disease, especially rickets resistant to vitamin D.
- And the fourth cause is bone growth plate injuries, especially near the knee joint, as well as severe osteoarthritis in adults
signs
A person with a knock knee has severe pain, but when he walks, he raises his leg in a circle and puts it forward to prevent the knees from colliding.
Another symptom of a knock knee can be a flat foot. Children with a knock knee usually have a flat foot and may also have knee pain.
Diagnosis
When a person with a pathological knock knee, ie a non-physiological disorder, is taken to a doctor, a clinical examination is necessary. The doctor asks the patient to walk more in front of him/her to assess the pattern of walking and standing. The doctor also Measures the deviation and measures the angles of the lower limbs relative to each other. Measurement of leg height, walking and standing patterns, and symmetry or asymmetry of limbs should be considered, and x-rays, especially plain X-rays, are essential in these cases.
Children with physiological genu valgum up to an eight-degree deviation do not need treatment, but if there is more deviation or underlying disease, treatment at that age is necessary. Eliminating underlying causes, such as correcting nutritional deficiencies, problems absorbing vitamins d and c, as well as strengthening the muscles around the knee and pelvis and physiotherapy can reduce a child's disabilities.
If persistent genu valgum is present and does not resolve spontaneously as the child matures, surgery may be used if the child or person has symptoms.
For example, Guided growth surgery, or hemi-epiphysiodesis, which gradually and in proportion to the child's growth, corrects his problem, may be used and in cases where there is genu valgum in puberty and adulthood, using osteotomy surgery and correction of bone extension will correct the person's bone deformity.
What are the surgeries to correct a knock knee?
performing Corrective and reconstructive surgeries, In cases of Severe and symptomatic genu valgum in childhood or after puberty and adulthood and also physiological genu valgum that does not resolve spontaneously or when there are underlying diseases that have caused this abnormality, are necessary to treat this anatomical problem.
The surgeries for the treatment of cruciate ligament are as follows:
guided growth surgery:
This method is for growing children or adolescents who have not yet completed their growth. In this method, the growth plate in the outer part of the knee is temporarily or permanently blocked so that it does not become more crooked as the knee continues to grow.
Another type os knee osteotomy surgery:
This method is for adults who have completed their growth. First, before the surgery, the amount of deviation and also the amount that needs to be corrected must be accurately measured. During surgery, great care must be taken to cut the bones and to correct and align the length of the bones, Because these things have to be done in the calculated amount, then it is fixed by screws and plates, and also after surgery, strengthening exercises must be used to improve the function of the operated limb.
The following is a brief description of how to perform the surgery.
Knee osteotomy
We said that this surgery is necessary in adults with a knock knee who has symptoms or their genu valgum are stable and this structural problem has not been corrected. In terms of the duration of the surgery, in terms of length of surgery, the surgeon needs one to two hours. The surgeon should make a small incision in the front of the knee, which is basically the patella, The size of the wedge bone to be removed should then be determined using a guide wire.
In this part, the surgeon cuts the guide wire with a Oscillating saw. Then the wedge-shaped incision is taken out of the bone. The bones are then placed on top of each other to fill the space of the removed wedge, and plates and screws are added to hold the bones in place until the knee is fully healed.
Prognosis of genu valgum surgeries
Surgeries performed to repair people with knock knee, especially when combined with post-surgery physical exercises, have good therapeutic results. Medical instruments such as splits and other devices used after surgery may also be prescribed by your doctor.
Tips for speeding up your recovery include mobility (of course, knee mobility as recommended by your doctor), balance exercises, strengthening exercises, and learning how to stand properly, walk properly, and distribute weight correctly on your knees.
Exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee in people with a knock knee are recommended as follows:
number one: Sit on a chair, while your soles are on the floor, now straighten and lift one leg. Maintain this position and then lower the leg. Lie on your back, raise your knee while straightening, maintain this position, lower your leg again.
Number two: It is used to strengthen the muscles behind the thigh. You should bend one leg backwards and try to bring the leg back straight. Now you should repeat the same movement while lying on your stomach.
Do these exercises by repeating 10 times for each leg for each side
Gradually add weight while exercising if your doctor advises.
To strengthen the muscles in the knock knee, half-step squat, orthopedic ball, etc. can be useful which it should be done under the supervision of a specialist.