Do people make fun of your bowed legs, the way you walk or run?
Do you feel insecure and lose confidence?
Did you use to think that you were the only adult with bow legs?
Do you hate your bow legs because you can’t wear the clothes you actually want to wear?
Have you considered getting one of those belts to start correcting your legs? And have your doctors and physiotherapists told you to do surgery?
Are you looking for simple exercises to help correct your bow legs once and for all?
And wouldn’t you want to fix your bow leg problem quickly and learn how to straighten your legs naturally?
I have 3 quick yoga exercises for you that will help you with your bowed legs.
My hope is that you’ll be able to incorporate these simple hacks into your daily life. It is my aim to inspire you and show you new ways to unlearn unhealthy habits and start to correct your bow legs naturally.
Please note that this article is NOT for you if you suffer from:
- Serious degrees of Blount’s Disease
- Achondroplasia
- Fractures
- Bone Tumors
- Peget’s Disease of the Bone
- Brittle Bone Disease
- Vitamin Deficiency
- or other medical conditions.
All others are good to go.
EXERCISE #1: BRING YOUR BIG TOES DOWN
Bow legs are not mere cosmetic phenomena. A combination of foot, knee and/or hip imbalances can seriously weaken the structure of your knees and eventually cause you knee, hip and/or ankle pain. If you are healthy and want to straighten your bow legs naturally, practice the following tips regularly.
Do you usually stand more on the outer edges of your feet?
This is called over-supination or under-pronation, and as a result we overstretch our ankles. But some of us do exactly the opposite placing more weight onto the medial edges of the feet. This is called over-pronation.
But the ligaments and tendons of our ankles are stabilizers of the joint. They are not supposed to be stretched, not into one direction or the other. By habitually standing this way we weaken the structure of our ankles and feet, and start to feel insecure in our ankles.
Over-supination occurs when the foot leans to the outside, reducing the shock-absorbing capacity for the feet. Over-pronation occurs when the arch of the foot collapses, causing the foot to roll inward excessively. This causes uneven weight distribution and is one of the most common foot, knee and hip issues. A balanced foot, one that neither over-supinates nor excessively pronates, lifts the arch up and grounds through the toes.
Tight calves or shortened calf muscles can create pain in feet or ankles too. All the parts of our bodies are interconnected. So when your tight or shortened calf muscles can’t do their job properly, other muscles and joints have to work harder. This creates an imbalance that can have a ripple effect of pain from the lower back to the toes. If you are a runner, make sure you watch out for this and stretch your calves regularly.
Take a look at your shoes to understand what I mean. Is the tread wear of the soles of your shoes all along the outer edge of the heel? Does this shoe wear pattern run all across the board?
Do the following pictures look familiar?
But perhaps the tread wear of the soles of your shoes runs all along the outer edge of the heel?
Feel free to join the facebook groups and share a picture of your shoes. Can’t wait for you to share it with me HERE:
I encourage you to take off your shoes from time to time and make a conscious effort to plant down all the four corners of your feet. Bring down the big toes and notice your pinky toes in contact with the ground too. This you can equally do when wearing your shoes. Just give it a try. Feels awkward? I reckon. But can you notice that you are a bit more stable and grounded standing this way? Great job!
EXERCISE #2: ACTIVATE YOUR HIP ADDUCTORS
Do you know your hip adductors?
The so-called hip adductors are your inner thigh muscles that help draw your thighs toward each other. The so-called hip abductors, however, are your deep buttocks muscles. They externally rotate your hip.
These two muscle groups need to be in balance in order to help align your joints properly and straighten your legs adequately. Can you see that if they don’t do their job properly this can impact the shape of your legs? If you suffer from hip and leg imbalances, you may encounter joint pain and/or bow legs.
A healthy muscle is strong and flexible. Keeping your muscles healthy may be the best way to support the job of your hips, knees and ankles. Also a healthy lifestyle including adequate movement, diet, and sleep will definitely contribute to the well-being of the soft tissues in your body. But a physical imbalance caused by unhealthy muscles may lead to injury.
If your joints are not aligned correctly, this may cause wear and tear. If the cartilage wears out, it may lead to pain, stiffness, and swelling in the respective body part. If the padding of e.g. your knee joint gets damaged, the knee becomes unstable and problems may arise. Your knee joint can develop a hot-spot for chronic pain, inflammation or even osteoarthritis.
But osteoarthritis is progressive, and it takes time to develop fully. Yoga is a natural way to slow down, and to reduce the inflammation and wear and tear that degrades the joints and bones. Apart from that yoga is also free from side effects compared to surgery, corticosteroids, and some other treatments, and may even reduce your need for them.
Start to pay attention to your body and try to keep your hip adductors activated. Try to press your inner thigh muscles together whenever you remember. The same applies to your shins.
Do you feel a difference?
EXERCISE #3: STOP OVERSTRETCHING YOUR KNEES
The knee is the largest and most complex joint in the human body. It is the reason we can bend our lower legs backward and rotate the lower legs. Without the knee, normal movements we make everyday would become extremely difficult or impossible.
The knee isn’t made up of a simple joint. Bones, cartilage, muscles, ligaments, and tendons all help the knees provide support for the body and allow us to walk, run, jump, and turn.
Your knee is covered by a firm, elastic layer of cartilage that allows the joint to move easily. Since the cartilage doesn’t have blood vessels, it absorbs nutrients like a sponge. During compression, waste products from the cells are squeezed outward. During relaxation, nutrients can go inward.
Two ligaments in the center of the knee joint are responsible for keeping the joint stable and allowing it to have a full range of motion. You’ve probably heard of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but the less famous posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) is equally as important. The two ligaments cross each other, forming an X across the knee, to allow the knee to extend and flex.
A ligament is a soft tissue that connects bones. The ACL and the PCL are the most commonly injured ligaments in the knee. Both the ACL and the PCL connect your thigh bone to your shin bone. The ACL frequently gets stretched or torn by sudden twisting or other movements, while the PCL is typically injured in a direct impact such as a car accident. It is proven that ladies are two to eight times more likely to suffer from ACL injuries than men.
The knee must not only be flexible, to allow us to walk and bend, but also stable, to allow us to stand. That’s a lot to ask of one joint! It’s no wonder that we know so many people with knee problems or who have even had their knees replaced.
If we overstretch the knee, we weaken the stabilizing structure of the tendons and ligaments. That’s why it’s super important for you to keep your knees soft. Just move the top of your shins forward half inch or a centimeter. You got it!
EXERCISE # 4: BONUS TIP: STRETCH YOUR HIP FLEXORS
A while ago, I was having tea with a friend. We were catching up on each other’s busy lives, and she was telling me about how she needs to slow down and take more time for herself. She was complaining of the normal aches and pains that we all seem to have lately. Noticing that my teacup was empty, she attempted to spring up from the couch to retrieve the teapot. She only made it halfway up! Her body instantly locked, forcing her to take a moment and then slowly straighten up. She sighed.
In today’s society, we sit to watch TV, we sit at work, we sit in the car, and we sit to visit. We become passive, keeping our muscles inactive and still. But inertia really causes more damage than good.
When we sit for many hours the so-called hip flexors “shrink to fit.” This set of muscles and fascia (soft tissues) attach the leg to the torso. When they flex the hip, they pull the thigh and torso closer together.
Sitting down for many hours keeps the hip flexed over a long period of time. The hip flexors get tight, stiff, and grumpy because they are kept in the same shortened position for too long. This may have an effect further up or down the line.
When we suddenly attempt to open the hips back up, they try to stay flexed. The hip flexors have forgotten how to lengthen, our breath gets tight, and the body locks. Pain is one way our bodies communicate with us, and my friend’s hip flexors were raising their voice!
It helps, if you get up from your desk every hour to get a glass of water or a cup of herbal tea. By taking a short walk to the kitchen or the water dispenser, you begin to stretch your hips and prevent them from getting locked. This way you also make sure to drink enough water during the day! It helps with constipation too.
Remember!
- Keep your big toes down
- Activate your inner thighs
- Stop overstretching your knees
- Stretch your hip flexors from time to time.
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Let me help you. I use individually-tailored exercises to liberate you from aches and pains, stiffness and tightness. CLICK HERE to book your 15-min online body assessment. It’s absolutely FREE for you. What do you have to lose except your pain?
