Can Exercise and Stretching Fix Bow Legs?

Natural Options for Treating Bow Legs

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Exercise cannot permanently fix bow legs because it won’t change the shape of the bone, but there are benefits to exercising and stretching if you have bow legs, medically known as genu varum.

Because an adult's bones are fully formed, surgery is the only way to correct bow legs in an adult, although certain exercises may help straighten your legs and protect your knees. Treatment for bow legs is different for children. Bow legs in children usually resolve as a child grows. If they persist into the toddler years, they can be treated with bracing, physical therapy, or—in rare cases—surgery.

This article discusses the challenges and benefits of exercise when you have bow legs. It also covers tips for how to exercise safely, and what other treatment options might be available.

Exercise fitness staying home workout woman exercising stretching leg muscles before yoga training. Fit girl working out in morning sunlight in living room of apartment house
Maridav / Getty Images

How Exercise Helps With Bow Legs

Exercising can't correct bow legs, but studies have shown that thigh and hip muscle stretches may have benefits if performed consistently and progressively.

Exercise is also an important part of maintaining your overall health. Many people with bow legs are able to function and exercise without pain or problems, but it is important to choose lower-impact exercises that are less likely to lead to future knee problems.

Exercise can help you manage your weight, which can help prevent joint problems. Being obese is an additional risk factor for knee osteoarthritis.

The medical term for bow legs is genu varum. It is the opposite of knock knees (genu valgus), in which your knees bend inwards.

Stretches for Bow Legs

By taking care of your knees and exercising properly, you may even prevent problems. For instance, stretching and strengthening your hips and legs will help keep your knees healthy.

Some exercises may also help straighten your legs, though they can't completely correct the problem. A small study that looked at exercise in college students with bow legs found that 60 minutes of hamstring and adductor stretches or resistance band exercises performed three times a week for four weeks helped reduce the space between the knees and improve stability. Some of these exercises included:

  • Adductor stretch: While seated, flex one knee and extend the other while pointing the toe.
  • Hamstring stretch: While seated, extend both legs and bend your trunk. 
  • Hamstring stretch: Stand on one leg and place the sole of your opposite foot against your knee, forming a "4" shape. Pull the flexed knee towards your trunk.
  • Abductor/external rotator exercise: Lie on your side with a resistance band around your thighs and lift your top leg.
  • Kick-back: Stand with your elbows and knees flexed and loop a resistance band around your hands and one foot. Slowly raise the foot with the band.

The hamstrings are the muscles that extend your hip and knee, and the adductor muscles connect the pelvic bone and the inner thigh and knee.

Balance Exercise for Bow Legs

Research indicates you may have slight balance impairments if you have bow legs, especially when moving in a side-to-side direction. This may be due to changes in your center of mass with altered foot, ankle, and hip positions occurring with bow legs.

You may also need to improve your proprioception, which is sensing your body's movements. Balance exercises can help improve your function in your daily activities and possibly help prevent falls.

Some good ideas may include:

  • Single leg standing: Standing on one foot
  • Tandem standing: Standing with one foot directly in front of the other
  • BOSU ball training: Exercising while using a BOSU balance trainer, a platform on top of a round dome
  • Balance board or BAPS board: Standing on boards that wobble to help improve balance

Before starting any exercise program, check with your healthcare provider and physical therapist. They can help make sure your exercises are safe for you to do.

Recommended Activities

Exercises that have a lower impact or no impact will better preserve your knee health. They can limit the amount of force through your knee joints and prevent wear-and-tear problems.

If you have lower leg pain already, you may wish to find non-impact exercises to do. This includes cycling, swimming, rowing, yoga, pilates, rollerblading, tai chi, and resistance band training.

Recommended
  • Swimming

  • Cycling

  • Rowing

  • Yoga

  • Pilates

  • Tai chi

Not Recommended
  • Running

  • Soccer

  • Aerobics

  • Basketball

  • Tennis

  • Volleyball

Physical Therapy for Bow Legs

A physical therapist (PT) who specializes in orthopedic conditions can assess your legs and tailor an exercise program that is safe and effective for you. They can suggest activities that are low-impact to help protect the knees and modify exercises to make them safer.

Your PT can also work with you on exercises to help improve balance and keep your legs and knees in alignment. Physical therapists call this neuromuscular training, which helps improve body movements and stability.

Limitations of Exercise for Bow Legs

While the benefits of exercise invariably outweigh the risks, persons with bow legs are at risk of further compromising joints and ligaments if they engage in high-impact activities that place excess pressure on the knees (as well as the hips and ankles).

While this will occur with common activities such as walking, the stresses are magnified with high-impact exercises like running.

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Click Play to Learn About Exercising When You Have Bow Legs

This video has been medically reviewed by Oluseun Olufade, MD.

Compromised Joints

Bow legs create a gap on the outer part, or lateral aspect, of your knee joint. At the same time, the medial or inside part of your knees may be compressed.

  • Ligament strain: Gapping on the outer part of your knees may place excessive stress on the lateral collateral ligaments. These strong structures connect your thigh bone to your lower leg bone. They prevent excessive motion on the outside part of your knees.
  • Cartilage wear: Compressing the inside of your knee joints may cause pain or increased wear and tear of your medial meniscus. This cartilage sits atop your shinbone and provides cushioning between your thigh bone and shin bone within your knee joint.
  • Cartilage tear: Too much compression here may cause problems like a meniscus tear, which is a tear in the cartilage.
  • Arthritis: Compression can also cause medial joint arthritis, located in the inner part of the knee.
  • Patellofemoral pain syndrome: Stresses on the knee can also increase the risk for patellofemoral pain syndrome, where the kneecap rubs the end of the thigh bone.

Movement and Force

Genu varum may affect how your hips and ankles move, too. You may face a slightly increased risk of problems in those joints while exercising.

  • Tendonitis: Some research indicates athletes with bow legs have an increased risk of Achilles tendonitis, an injury in the tendon near the heel. This may be due to increased rotational forces that happen at your shin during weight-bearing activities like running and squatting. By correcting or compensating for these forces, you may be able to minimize your risk.
  • Supination: A bow-legged runner is more likely to supinate their feet and ankles, with the ankles rolling outward and the soles turning inward. This places stress on the outer edge of the foot and the smaller toes. Shoe inserts or orthotics (medical devices placed in shoes) might be recommended to correct this.

What exercises are unsafe with bow legs?

There are no hard and fast rules, but sports that involve a lot of running and/or jumping along with sudden changes in direction should be approached with caution. This includes soccer, tennis, football, volleyball, basketball, and long-distance running.

Safety Tips

Keeping your knees in alignment during exercise may help to improve your knee position and minimize your risk of injury.

Follow these tips:

  • When running, make sure your knees remain right over your toes when landing on each foot.
  • When squatting, don't squat so deep that your hips go below your knees. Keep your knees over your toes.
  • Wear shoes that will give the proper amount of support.

Other Treatment Options

If you have knee pain or have had an injury, check with your healthcare provider before starting any exercise program. A medical professional can help ensure that you are exercising properly if you have bow legs.

Your healthcare provider may recommend shoe inserts or knee support in addition to a modified exercise program.

If you have bow legs and do high-impact activities such as running, you might be a good candidate for an orthotic. This is a shoe insert specially crafted to correct the way you walk. Consult with a footwear expert or podiatrist to determine which type of shoe or insert will provide the best foot mechanics. You may need a prescription orthotic.

Children With Bow Legs

Most cases of bow legs in children will correct themselves as the child grows. Bow legs that persist into the toddler years may need treatment.

Corrective braces are more commonly used for children with bow legs who need intervention. These include a modified knee-ankle-foot device worn both day and night. Braces are not generally used to correct bow legs in adults.

Some cases of bow legs in children are related to a vitamin deficiency called rickets. This condition can be treated by adding vitamin D and calcium to the child's diet.

Surgery

Osteotomy is a surgical procedure that involves fracturing and reshaping the tibia (shin bone) or femur (thigh bone) with screws and a metal plate. Some procedures involve both of these bones. 

The specific surgical procedure your healthcare provider will use depends on where the bowing occurs and how severe it is. 

Most healthcare providers will perform surgery only if the bowing is severe enough to cause symptoms such as pain or loss of function. Most of the time, surgeons will not do an osteotomy simply to correct the appearance of bow legs.

Summary

When you have bow legs, exercise can be challenging, but it can also help improve the health of your joints.

Because bow legs can alter your knees' structure, it can affect how your legs move. This can lead to an increased risk of knee, hip, and ankle issues. You may also have more problems with balance and stability.

Exercise may help you to avoid some of these joint issues by strengthening and stretching your hips and legs. Certain exercises may even be able to improve your legs' alignment.

Your doctor or physical therapist can give you advice about exercises that would be safe and effective for you. In more severe cases, surgery may be required.

8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Brett Sears, PT

By Brett Sears, PT
Brett Sears, PT, MDT, is a physical therapist with over 20 years of experience in orthopedic and hospital-based therapy.