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Genu Valgum Case Study

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Genu Valgum, commonly referred to as Knock Knees, can be described as the inside of a person’s knees touching. In scientific terminology, the knee is misaligned with its mechanical axis (Prodyut, D n.d; Hatch, 2017) Children’s General Practitioner Dr Chris Teh in an interview (Teh, 2017) described the condition as ‘’two growth plates, the inner one of which pushes more than the outer one causing the knee to slant in, whilst the outer plate tries to play catch up’’. It is classified as a normal part of growth in young children and is quite common until the age of roughly four years old. Concerns are raised after the age of six if a child begins developing the symptoms, or alternatively has not outgrown them. If this is the case, doctors often describe the condition as a growth deformity (The University of Sydney, 2016; Genu Valgum 2012). …show more content…

Each article analysed, as well as professional interviews indicated that rickets is the leading disease connected to bone deformities such as Genu Valgum (Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, 2014; Bowed legs, Blount's Disease, n.d) This is supported by orthopaedic surgeon Dr David Hermann (Hermann, 2016) who stated in an interview ‘’It can be caused through a fracture, trauma or a disease, a common one of is Rickets.’’ To elaborate, rickets is a vitamin D deficiency common in children; it causes a child to suffer from submissive bones and joints, as well as excruciating muscle pain. Rickets can develop through a number of causes, for example; naturally darker skin and lack of sun exposure. It is a key element to the body because of its ability to break down calcium, ultimately creating strong and healthy bones (Rickets, 2016; Shapiro, F

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