How to tell if your baby has bow legs? How to do a physical examination for your baby at home?

The baby's growth stage requires our constant attention. So, how to judge whether the baby has bow legs?

How to determine whether the baby has abnormal leg shape

This requires careful observation by parents. After the baby can walk, make sure that the joints of the baby's lower limbs (hip, knee, ankle) are moving normally, let the child lie flat on the bed, straighten the lower limbs and close them together, and observe carefully. If the child shows "O"-shaped legs, observe the distance between the two knee joints; if the child shows "X"-shaped legs, observe the distance between the two ankles. There is no absolute standard for this distance. It changes with the different ages of the child, and the distance should be as small as possible. As a doctor, their real judgment standard should be the angle between the thigh and the calf. Therefore, if you think the distance between the child's knees or ankles is large, such as more than 15 degrees of inversion, you must take the baby to the doctor for examination to confirm. In this way, parents can also discover and intervene in time.

How to tell if your baby has bow legs

There is a simple way to determine whether your baby has bow legs: let the baby lie on his back, use both hands to gently straighten the baby's legs and bring them closer together. Under normal circumstances, when the baby's legs are close together, the knee joints and ankle joints on both sides are close together. If there is a gap, you should pay attention. When the gap exceeds 10 cm, it is generally necessary to receive treatment. However, for babies under 6 months old, if the tibia (the long bone below the knee joint) of both lower limbs bends outward, it is a normal physiological phenomenon. Generally, it will gradually straighten between 6 months and 1 year old. For 2-year-old babies, it is normal to have mild genu valgum or genu varum, and most of them can correct themselves during the growth process, so there is no need to worry.

What are the dangers of bow legs?

1. Serious harm to body shape

If a child has bow legs, the inner side of the knee joints bears almost all the pressure of the entire body, which causes the body's load-bearing line to shift and move inward. Whether walking or standing, it is mainly the outer muscles of the legs that exert force, while the inner muscles rarely exert force. Over time, the outer muscles of the child are more developed than the inner muscles, the gap between the two legs will become larger, and the outer contour will move outward, making the legs look thicker.

2. Harm to joint health

Normally, the weight of a person's body is evenly distributed among the joints. However, if a person has bow legs, the knee joint will turn inward, causing the inner joint to bear more pressure. Because of the greater pressure and friction, the inner cartilage is more likely to be damaged, resulting in osteoarthritis. When the child gets older, he or she is more likely to suffer from joint pain, which affects normal walking.

3. Increase psychological pressure

Bow legs not only affect appearance and health, but also cause great psychological harm to people and affect their mental health.

How to give your baby a checkup at home

1. Measure your height

Method: Use a tape measure at home. It is better to use a cloth tape measure, not a plastic tape measure with high elasticity. For children under 3 years old, measure in the supine position. Take off the baby's shoes and socks, face up, and keep the two ears at the same level. The parent stands on the right side of the baby, holds the two knees with the left hand, and the other parent measures from the top of the head to the sole of the foot.

Normal: The average height of a baby at birth is 50 cm. It grows 2.5 cm per month in the first six months, 1.2 cm per month in the second half of the year, 10 cm in the second year, and 5 cm every year thereafter.

Abnormal: If the height is lower than the normal 3 percentiles or 2 standard deviations for the same gender and age, then the person may suffer from dwarfism or cretinism.

2. Measure your body weight

Method: Before measuring, the baby should first urinate and defecate, then take off shoes, socks, hats and clothes, and only wear shorts. The baby should lie on the scale plate, and older children can squat in the center of the scale to measure the weight. Keep warm when measuring.

Normal: An average of 3 kg at birth, with an increase of 0.6 kg per month in the first six months, 0.5 kg per month in the second six months, and 2 kg per year thereafter.

Abnormal: more than 10% indicates overweight, more than 20% indicates obesity, and less than 5% indicates malnutrition.

3. Measure the anterior fontanelle

Method: Measure the oblique diameter of the anterior fontanelle (the line connecting the midpoints of the opposite sides of the fontanelles on both sides). There is a smaller posterior fontanelle behind the anterior fontanelle, and its size can be estimated by gently pressing it with your hand.

Normal: 2-2.5 cm at birth, closed at 12-18 months. The posterior fontanelle closes at 2-4 months.

Abnormalities: If the fontanelle is too large or closes too late, hydrocephalus may be present.