01
A gap between the knees
Even standing straight, your knees don't touch,
so photos and outfits are always on your mind.
So you don't have to hide your legs
in front of the mirror.
Bow Legs · Posture Correction
A day when you don't cross your legs for photos, wear the clothes you want, and can walk for a long time without your knees aching. Getting closer to that day is the goal of this care.
For functional bow legs, we plan on about 20 sessions over 3 months. It didn't come from one wrong step. It's the result of years of your body leaning off balance, so undoing it takes time too.
Why people come to see us
Sometimes it's about more
than the shape of your legs.
02
Shoes that wear down on one side
Only the outer edge of one heel wears down,
and your pants zipper twists to the side.
03
Knees that ache after a long walk
When you walk or exercise, your knees and ankles
don't feel properly supported.
04
"They'll grow out of it"
Your child's legs seem to bow a little more every year,
and you're not sure if it's okay to just wait.
Not all bow legs can be corrected
Let us be honest from the start.
Some bow legs can be treated, and some cannot.
If you start without telling the two apart, you only spend time and money.
The treatable kind is a problem of the pelvis and muscles.
The bones are fine, but the thighbones are rotated inward, so the legs look bowed.
The kind that can't be treated is when the bone itself is curved. That isn't something hands-on adjustment or exercise can reverse.
You can get a rough idea at home. Stand up straight in front of a mirror and look at which way both kneecaps are pointing.
If your knees point inward toward each other, it's likely the treatable kind.
If your knees face straight ahead, we first check the bones with an X-ray.
We never say something can be fixed when it can't. That's a line we hold.
How things go depends on each person's condition and how much the bone is curved.
1
Legs that look bowed
because the pelvis is twisted
Main Symptoms
- • The knee gap narrows when the pelvis is held in place
- • The knees point inward toward each other
- • Hard to engage the buttock muscles
Diagnosis Pattern
A functional imbalance in which the thighbones rotate inward
Recommended Treatment
Pelvic alignment and glute strengthening
We correct the twisted pelvis and build up the muscles that support it, bringing the leg's axis back into line.
→ When you lie down, your toes point closer to straight up, and we confirm the change by comparing recorded measurements of the gap between your knees.
2
Legs that really are
different lengths
Main Symptoms
- • Only one shoe wears down
- • Your pants zipper twists to the side
- • One shoulder sits higher
Diagnosis Pattern
The body has compensated for the length difference, and that pattern has set in
Recommended Treatment
Custom insoles to make up the difference
We first support the actual difference so it doesn't pull you back with every step, then correct your alignment.
→ The strain that was piling onto your knees and lower back gets shared out, so long walks leave you less achy.
3
Growing children
and teens
Main Symptoms
- • The legs seem to bow more every year
- • Doesn't like walking for long
- • Sitting posture often slumps
Diagnosis Pattern
A stage when posture and muscles are taking shape together
Recommended Treatment
Posture care during growth
Because the bones haven't set yet, it helps to get posture and muscles on track now.
→ With the glutes and core doing their job, the body holds up better when standing and walking.
How we treat it
Before we start, we first find out whether your bow legs are the treatable kind.
Posture and gait analysis
We check how you stand, how you walk and how your hips move
to find where things give way.
to find where things give way.
Chuna
We loosen shortened muscles and correct the alignment
of the twisted pelvis and spine by hand.
of the twisted pelvis and spine by hand.
Custom insoles
They support leg length differences and foot alignment, so correction keeps happening while you walk.
Exercise therapy
We build up weakened buttock and core muscles,
and plan your home exercises together.
and plan your home exercises together.
Treatment Process
What happens on your first day
1
We look at your X-ray together
First we ask, "What do you notice when you look at this?" We start from what you see yourself.
2
We draw lines to show you
We measure the difference in pelvic height, the length of the thighbone and the length of the shinbone separately. This is where we tell whether the pelvis is twisted or the bones really are different lengths.
3
We measure how you stand and walk
We look at how your weight is split left and right (within 3% is normal), how it's split front to back (60:40 is normal), and your stride when you walk. We also look at where your calluses are and how your shoes have worn.
4
We let you feel it for yourself
We have you do one movement before the adjustment, then the same movement again after. This says more than words. If your alignment is far off, we take photos for the record.
5
We tell you how much can change
The part that comes from posture and muscles is what we can work on. If the angle of the bone is the main factor, we tell you so plainly. It's possible that one side can change and the other can't.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Can bow legs be corrected?
A. Some can, and some can't. When the pelvis is twisted and the thighbones are rotated inward so the legs look bowed, that can be corrected. When the bone itself is curved, hands-on adjustment or exercise can't reverse it. We find out which kind you have with an exam before we start.
Q. Can I check at home first?
A. Stand up straight in front of a mirror and see which way both kneecaps are pointing. If your knees point inward toward each other, it's likely the treatable kind. If your knees face straight ahead but there's still a gap between your legs, the bone may be the cause. This is only a rough guess, though. We confirm it at your visit.
질문 7개 더 보기 접기
Q. If the bone is curved, is there nothing I can do?
A. Our correction won't change it, and we make that clear from the start. But even if the bone is curved, if it's putting extra strain on your knees or lower back, we can help spread that strain out. That's a different thing from changing the shape of your legs.
Q. Won't my legs go back after the correction?
A. If your old posture and habits stay the same, your body tends to return to its old pattern. That's why we work on exercise and everyday posture along with treatment, and why we give you things to do at home.
Q. My child has bow legs. Will they grow out of it?
A. There is a stage when legs naturally straighten as children grow. But if the gap seems to widen year after year, or your child seems uncomfortable walking, it's worth having it checked. During growth, posture and muscles are taking shape together.
Q. Why do you check my neck for bow legs?
A. Even if your pelvis drops on one side, your eyes always try to stay level. To keep them level, the body bends somewhere in between to balance itself. So people with a twisted pelvis often have a neck turned the opposite way. If we fix only the legs and leave the rest as is, things go back.
Q. I started treatment, and it feels like I'm even more out of line.
A. You may feel that way for the first month or two. It doesn't mean something's wrong. When one part is lifted, the whole body shifts along with it. We mention this ahead of time because some people stop right here. Things settle into place after you get through this stage.
Q. How often do I need to come in?
A. For posture correction, we recommend twice a week. Just as going to a tutor twice a week gets you further than once a week, putting in more sessions early on means you can keep progressing later with fewer visits. If that's hard to manage, coming in once a week or even once every two weeks is still better for your body.
Q. How long does it take?
A. For functional bow legs, we plan on about 20 sessions over 3 months. It didn't appear suddenly from one wrong step. It's the result of years of your body leaning off balance, so undoing it takes time too. This doesn't apply when the bone itself is curved. We find out which kind you have first, and then tell you how long to expect.
Bow Legs · Posture Correction 건강 칼럼
의료진이 직접 전하는 건강 정보입니다.
Column
I have bow legs. Why are you looking at my pelvis instead of my legs?
A good part of the bow legs you see in the mirror comes from how your pelvis is positioned. Here's why a tilted pelvis makes the legs look more curved, and the order we follow: correct the pelvis first, then build muscle.
Column
My inner knee aches. Is it because of my bow legs?
When the legs curve outward, body weight lands more on the inside of the knee. The load on the inner knee is close to "how curved × how heavy." You may not be able to change the angle, but you can change your weight and your muscles. Here are the three common sources of inner knee pain, the warning signs to check first, and three things to write down today.
Column
Bow leg correction exercises: will they really straighten your legs?
There's no solid research showing that exercise can change bone angles in fully grown adults. But the hip joints, muscles and habits can change, so the goal of bow leg exercises is to reduce the load that shifts onto the inside of the knee. We've laid out four things: the muscles at the side of the hips, knee direction when standing up, splitting your weight, and how you sit.
Health column
Our articles on bow legs and posture correction
We've answered the questions we hear most often in clinic, one question per article.
Feel free to start with whatever you're curious about.