Hesperian Health Guides
Chapter 11: Club Feet, Flat Feet, Bow Legs,and Knock-Knees
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Sometimes parents worry because they think a part of their child’s body is abnormal or deformed. But in small children, often what seems unusual is within what is normal, and will get better as the child grows. For this reason, it is important to know what variations are normal and which may be problems.
Note: For children born with parts of their bodies missing or shortened, see Chapter 12 on birth defects.
|1. Many children are born with their feet somewhat bent or crooked. To learn the difference between a normal bend caused by the baby’s position in the womb, and true club feet, see the next page.||CURVED FEET: NORMAL in the first weeks or months of life|
|‘FLAT’ FEET: NORMAL until age 2||2. ‘Fat’ or ‘flat’?—When most babies begin to walk, they walk on the insides of their feet, with their legs wide apart. Also their feet still have baby fat on the bottom. As a result, the feet look very flat. In nearly all cases, they will get better by themselves.|
|3. A baby’s legs often bend outward (‘bow legs’), like this. This bending starts to disappear at the age of 18 months. Then the legs slowly straighten until they actually bend inward a little, like this.||BOW LEGS:
|KNOCK-KNEES: NORMAL between 2 and 12 years||4. This ‘knock-kneed’ position generally develops around age 2. By age 5 or 6 the knees begin to straighten.|
Note: Children with brain damage sometimes develop a ‘knock-knee’ way of standing or walking. If the child with knock-knees also moves or walks in a stiff or jerky way, or shows other problems, check for signs of brain damage. (See Examining The Nervous System and Chapter 9 on cerebral palsy.)