Few days back, oh I think weeks back, I was telling someone that my legs and feet were not same what they are now Alhamdulillah. When I was just 8 months old, it was discovered that I had Physiological Genu Varum or Genu Varum. I had just started walking at that time. Interestingly, my parents didn't notice the disease as they were happy to see me walking and trembling. It is common that toddlers are used to tremble when they start walking. So it's difficult to distinguish if they are trembling of Physiological genu varum or they are trying to balance themselves.
What is Physiological Genu Varum or Genu Varum?
"Genu varum (also called bow-leggedness or bandiness), is a deformity marked by medial angulation of the leg in relation to the thigh, an outward bowing of the legs, giving the appearance of a bow. It is also known as bandy-leg, bowleg, bow-leg, and tibia vara".
"Children until the age of 3 to 4 have a degree of Genu Varum. The knee-joints approach one another; the femur slopes downward and inward towards the knee joints; the tibia become straight; and the sole of the foot faces almost directly downwards".
A bowleg kid and a normal healthy kid
Causes:
"If a child is sickly, either with rickets or suffering from any ailment that prevents the due ossification of the bones, or is improperly fed, the bowed condition may remain persistent. Thus the chief cause of this deformity is rickets"."Skeletal problems, infection, and tumors can also affect the growth of the leg, sometimes giving rise to a one-sided bow-leggedness. The remaining causes are occupational, especially among jockeys, and from physical trauma, the condition being very likely to supervene after accidents involving the condyles of the femur. Adults with rickets are thought to be bowlegged due to horse back riding".
Keep in mind that the extra-ordinary increased weight can also cause bowed legs in toddlers and also in adults. So child should be healthy but not fatty that his own legs cannot bear him.
Expectations:
"In most cases persisting after childhood, there is little or no effect on the ability to walk. Due to uneven stress and wear on the knees, however, even milder manifestations can see an accelerated onset of arthritis. Those with bowlegs and a genetic predisposition for developing arthritis will likely start having arthritic symptoms around age 30".
Treatment:
"Generally, no treatment is required for idiopathic presentation as it is a normal anatomical variant in young children. Treatment is indicated when it persists beyond 3 and half years old, Unilateral presentation, or progressive worsening of the curvature. When caused by rickets, the most important thing is to treat the constitutional disease, at the same time instructing the mother never to place the child on its feet. In many cases this is quite sufficient in itself to effect a cure, but matters can be hastened somewhat by applying splints. When the deformity arises in older patients, either from trauma or occupation, the only treatment is surgery".
So that was all about the Genu Varum. I caught the disease due to Rickets.
What is Rickets?
"Rickets is a softening of bones in children potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries. The predominant cause is a vitamin D deficiency, but lack of adequate calcium in the diet may also lead to rickets"
Causes:
Those at higher risk for developing rickets include:- Breast-fed infants whose mothers are not exposed to sunlight
- Breast-fed infants who are not exposed to sunlight
- Individuals not consuming milk, such as those who are lactose intolerant
If a mother has low vitamin D levels during pregnancy, her infant may have rickets at birth; this is often referred to as Congenital Rickets.
Treatment:
"Treatment involves increasing dietary intake of HGH, phosphates and vitamin D. Exposure to ultraviolet B light (sunshine when the sun is highest in the sky), cod liver oil, halibut-liver oil, and viosterol are all sources of vitamin D".
Rickets may cause many physical deformities. It caused Genu Varum in my body when I was less than a year.
My Story:
I was a healthy baby, not that fatty but healthy and very active. When I started walking I used to tremble alot. My parents thought it all normal. Once my phupha visited us who is a dentist and was working in Saudia at that time. I was as usual walking, rather trying to walk in front of him when he pointed out that my legs were bit bowed. The disease was in its earliest stage. With all the intake of Vitamin D and other calcium, some specific medicines are also used to impede the disease and to erect the bowed legs. In those days, (err it was early 80s) its medicines were not available in Pakistan. I hope they are available now. My uncle was kind enough to send me all the medicines from Saudi Arabia. I was completely alright till the age to two.
My father is used to tell me about it. I never took it seriously. But when I read myself about the disease in detail how some people could not get rid of it and have to live with the permanent deformity, I indebtedly bow my head to Allah Subhanna Aa Ta'ala for granting me the perfect health.
If your kid has bowed legs, dont worry. It's completely cureable if diagose at the right time. My disease was caught and treated at the right time. I have spent and is spending my life Alhamdulillah in full swing. I was a good player of basketball. And yes I was among the fastest runners of 100 meters runnig also. I never faced any problem in walking and running.
When you have the deficiency of Vitamin D at any stage of your life, try to go through the complete treatment and of course you would have to take care of yourself rest of your life. Because the tendency of bone fracture may increase in you than in anyone else.
I was an extremely naughty and out of control child. My parents used to literally request me not to take a part in any sport or any physical activity. At that time, I was little to understand what's harm in it. But many times I got serious injuries during playing. I stopped participating in all type of sports when my wrist sprained during a tennis match.
I started cycling then. I considered it safe. I still love it. Imagine in the hot days of June and July when temperature's 40 to 45, I took my mountain bike out, made my baby brother sit on the rod (hehe bechara) and started towards the unknown destinations. My brother still remembers how skillfully I used to take out the keys of main door under my mom's pillow and how silently I took out the bike from the garage. hehe. I had another hobby that was jumping out of the walls. I preferred jumping their walls rather going through main gates :D . During such a jump, my arm got fractured at two plases. But it was all fun. I had a month off from the school :D .
See! I had this disease but Alhamdulillah it was treated at the right time. In a nut shell, it is necessary to keep an eye on your kid's health and growth. We do practice all baseless traditions keenly but I dont know why we are unable to develop and promote the culture of regular medical check-ups.
Sources:
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickets
-http://www.doctorslounge.com/pediatrics/diseases/genuvar.htm
-http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00230
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