If knee arthritis has left you knock-kneed or bowlegged, then this video could be a game-changer for you. Watch the video to learn one surprisingly effective tip to help relieve knee arthritis pain when walking.
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Bowlegged vs. Knock-Knee Arthritis
About 70 to 80% of knee arthritis cases affect the medial compartment or inner compartment of the knee.
You can also have arthritis in the lateral compartment or outer compartment, but that's far less common.
When you have joint space loss on the inner side of the knee, it can cause a bowlegged deformity.
This is known medically as a varus deformity, but most people just call it bowlegged.
Conversely, if you've lost joint space on the outer compartment or lateral compartment of your knee, it can cause a knock-knee deformity.
But there's a third type of deformity that you can have that's more common than people realize.
Pseudo-Valgus Knee Arthritis
And when you have a varus deformity or a bowlegged deformity, it changes the angulation of your lower legs or your tibia and fibula.
That effectively changes the orientation of your ankle joint.
So instead of the ankle axis being basically horizontal to the floor, it becomes slightly at an angle.
What that does is make the position of your foot somewhat pointed inward.
As a result, when you go to take a step, you still need to get your foot flat down on the floor to be able to push off of your big toe.
When you take a step, that can cause pronation at the subtalar joint in your ankle.
This can give the appearance of a knock-kneed deformity.
How To Relieve Bowlegged Knee Arthritis Pian When Walking
When you're walking, you still need to get contact of your big toe on the floor in order to push off of it.
However, overpronation can cause more twisting at the knee joint and further wear down on the joint surfaces.
If you think about gripping the ground with your toes, it helps give you a post to push off of so that you can take a step without collapsing into a pseudo-valgus position.
Other Treatments For Bowlegged or Knock-Knee Arthritis
Orthotics and Insoles
Additionally, wearing high arch orthotics to bring the ground up to your foot can help you walk without over-pronating.
Spenco Ground Control Shoe Insoles for W...
10% OffFor some people, just an over-the-counter insole like the ones above may work.
Other people may need a custom orthotic in order to post up underneath the big toe.
Knee Arthritis Unloader Brace
Another option is a knee unloader brace.
Unloader braces are designed to press against the curve and bring your knee back into to more of a vertical position.
Orthomen OA Unloader Knee Brace - Suppor...
$122.69 ($122.69 / Count) (as of May 15, 2024 16:33 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)There are advantages and disadvantages to those.
The advantage is it does gap the part of the knee where you have a joint space loss.
The disadvantage is it can also put more stress on the other part of the knee. Furthermore, the braces are kind of big and bulky, and they're not incredibly comfortable to wear.
Here's another variation of a knee unloader brace that actually unloads both compartments of the knee at the same time.
Save 10% on the DDS OA Pro Knee Unloader Brace using the discount code DRCANDY10
How To Relieve Knock-Knee Arthritis Pain When Walking
So what do you do if you have lateral joint space loss in a true valgus or knock-kneed deformity?
In that case, the concept is going to be the same, but the tip is going to be exactly the opposite.
You still want to accommodate to the new position of the knee and the ankle joint, but instead of putting the weight on the outer side of the foot, you'd put the weight on the inner side of the foot.
Conclusion
Some of these tips may seem counter-intuitive, but give them a try and see if they help. They don't work for everyone, but when they work they often work really well.
Need Help For Knee Arthritis Pain?
If you're in the St. Louis area and you'd like to relieve knee arthritis pain without surgery, we'd be happy to help you here at More 4 Life.
Just tap the button below to request an appointment with one of our specialists.