Author Peter Deryabin
11/20/2003 08:36 (Updated: 04/13/2020 12:05)
Health » Health and prevention » Phlebology
Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation, Chief Pediatric Traumatologist-Orthopedist of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Chief Children's Orthopedist of Moscow, Head of the Center for Pediatric Traumatology and Orthopedics CITO Oleg Alekseevich MALAKHOV talks about how to straighten your legs.
EXERCISES TO CORRECT X-SHAPED AND O-SHAPED LEGS
Evaluate your shin
Plastic surgeons solve the problem of curvature by installing implants on the inside of the lower leg, exactly where there is not enough volume. Thanks to this, the legs acquire smooth outlines and get rid of the “emptiness” between them. There are two types of implants: anatomical and symmetrical. Both of them are a shell filled with silicone gel, with only one difference: the first are more convex on top, the second - in the middle. The choice of “insert” depends on where exactly you are unhappy with your legs. If they dangle in your boots like pencils in a glass, and not a single boot in the world, even the narrowest, is able to fit them, anatomical implants are suitable for you. For those who have “not enough” middle part of the shin, the surgeon will “prescribe” a symmetrical “insert”.
Exercises for a child
Defects in a child should be corrected before the age of seven. It is necessary to combine regular massage courses with gymnastics.
Walking
Walk around the room first on your toes, then on the inside and outside of your feet. For the best effect, perform the exercise with the ball clamped between your legs.
Lying down
Lie on your back, lower limbs shoulder-width apart, feet turned inward.
Clench and unclench your fingers several times. Then connect your feet and imitate clapping.
On knees
Leaning on the palms and knee joints, the child pulls the leg back, straightening the toe.
On the stomach
Bend your knees so that your heels touch your buttocks.
Fear not scars, but bruises
Leg correction surgery, regardless of which implants - anatomical or symmetrical - are suitable for you, will proceed the same way: the surgeon will make a small incision in the skin through which he will install “inserts”. You don’t have to worry about scars: firstly, the scar will remain very small - 2.5 - maximum 5 cm, and secondly, it will go in the popliteal fossa, so those around you are unlikely to notice it. The main thing is to ask the surgeon how exactly he is going to “introduce” the implant: subcutaneously or subfascially, that is, deep into the muscle (fascia is a sheath of connective tissue that forms sheaths for muscles). The first method is fraught with unpleasant side effects - a pronounced adhesive process may occur, leading to fibrosis, which manifests itself in the form of cyanosis around the implant. As for the subfascial method of administration, in this case such a development of events is excluded.
Don't wait for pain
The entire operation to install implants will take no more than an hour. And believe me: all this time you will not feel pain. Theoretically, this procedure can be performed under local anesthesia. However, surgeons recommend performing the operation under epidural anesthesia or neuroleptanalgesia (intravenous pain relief) so that the patient feels more psychologically comfortable. In the first case, you will receive an injection in the spinal area: this technique is extremely common during childbirth - the patient is conscious, but sensation in the lower part of her body completely disappears. Neuroleptanalgesia is a drip that puts a person into a state of half-asleep: during the operation, the doctor either increases or decreases the dose of anesthesia, depending on how painful the manipulations are at the moment.
Walk around the house in heels
After the anesthesia wears off, you will experience not the most pleasant, but quite tolerable sensations that will last no more than four days. If you don’t feel too well, you can take a painkiller, not a particularly strong one, but a regular one that doesn’t require a prescription from a doctor. Don’t even think that you will be allowed to go home after the operation: surgeons leave patients under their care until the next morning. To minimize the risk of injury or bruising, you will be given elastic bandages on your shins or asked to wear compression garments. It cannot be removed for the next two weeks. And all this time you will have to show off in high-heeled shoes. And not only on the street: at home you should also forget about slippers and switch to stiletto heels. The fact is that when you put on a high heel, the foot rises, which causes the lower leg muscles to relax, and this, in turn, allows the implant to adapt faster. Among other things, the surgeon will prescribe you antibiotics, which you will take for two weeks, and ask you not to go to work for another 10 days. Despite the fact that bruises and swelling can be hidden under trousers, you should not neglect this advice, otherwise you risk complications. And, of course, you will have to forget about the gym: in the next two months, stress on the lower leg (running, active walking, leg exercisers) is prohibited. If you follow these instructions, the swelling and bruising will go away in a couple of weeks, and you will finally be able to put on a miniskirt and show off your legs to the world. But frivolous young ladies should be prepared for implant displacement, the development of hematomas or infection.
Instead of shoulder blades - wings
“My beloved baby’s wings are growing!” - said the mother, looking at her daughter. “How terrible these shoulder blades look!” - Dad was indignant. "This is so touching!" - Grandma was touched.
Many children before adolescence noticeably protrude their shoulder blades, which, with a certain amount of imagination, can actually be mistaken for emerging wings. Usually by the age of 12-15 these “wings” disappear without a trace, but in some cases they can remain for life.
“I really want to rid my child of them!” - said mom.
“Well, what can you do, these are bones!” - Dad remarked.
“Won’t it hurt?” - asked the grandmother.
If at six years old the “wings” really look touching, like those of an angel, then at twenty they significantly spoil the figure and posture.
What's the matter? Why do some people have shoulder blades that stick out and others don’t?
The back of a newborn baby is completely straight, the shoulder blades do not protrude. But by the age of 4-5 they become very noticeable, sometimes even too noticeable.
This is due to the fact that the shoulder blades at this age grow faster than the ribs and collarbones, and the chest has a more cylindrical shape than that of an adult. As a result, the upper outer corner of the scapula is pulled forward by the collarbone, the middle rests on the ribs, and the inner corners are raised. At the same time, it seems that the shoulder blades do not have enough space and they are about to break through the skin.
If you look closely at the child, you will notice that his shoulders extend far forward. This is especially noticeable when the child is very thin.
Such a defect in skeletal development can smooth out as the child grows, if he is sufficiently mobile and does not have a curved spine.
Thoracic kyphosis (bending the spine backward) is fertile ground for such a violation of posture as protruding shoulder blades to take hold. Lack of movement prevents the shoulder joints from developing, and shortened collarbones pull the shoulders forward.
In addition to kyphosis, “wings” are often combined with such defects as sunken or keeled (protruding forward) chest, scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine), undeveloped, narrow shoulders, pear-shaped chest, and deformed ribs.
A keeled and depressed chest, as well as bowed legs, may be a consequence of rickets. It happens that these shortcomings are inherited.
Deformed ribs are most often found with scoliosis. The spine, bending to the side, raises the ribs on one side and pulls them on the other. A rib hump is formed on the side of the apex of the curvature of the spine, and a dip is formed on the opposite side. In severe cases, asymmetry can reach more than ten centimeters!
Parents scold their children for poor posture and demand that they walk straight with their shoulders back. But willpower alone cannot change the shape of the skeleton.
How can these defects be corrected? First of all, try to rid the child of factors that provoke poor posture and skeletal deformation. The main ones are childhood rickets, a sedentary lifestyle, uncomfortable furniture, poor eyesight and even mental depression.
And of course, it is necessary to constantly perform special sets of exercises with the child . And not as a controller, but on an equal basis with him, because gymnastics for the spine is useful for every person at any age.
Alternative method
Break bones . True curvature of the legs – O-shaped (the legs look like a “wheel”) and X-shaped (with the hips closed, the ankles diverge to the sides) – are corrected using an operation called “osteotomy”: the legs take on an even shape after the orthopedic traumatologist breaks bones so that they grow together in a new way. The rehabilitation period after such an intervention takes quite a long time and requires the mandatory wearing of special structures (Ilizarov apparatus). Fill with gel . To correct false curvature, non-shell materials are sometimes used - pure gel. This is far from the best way to correct the shape of the legs: firstly, silicone, deprived of “packaging”, tends to migrate - to spread under the skin; secondly, if an infection suddenly gets in, which, alas, happens quite often with non-shell materials, it will not go away, but, on the contrary, will be maintained inside. Naturally, this cannot be done without a serious operation to remove the “infected” spread gel. Add fat .
Lipofilling is another method for correcting the shape of the legs. The essence of the technology is as follows: during liposuction, the surgeon extracts some of the fat pumped out from the patient, processes it and injects it into the problem area. Please note, this is a debatable way to make your legs straight: there are no fat deposits in the lower leg, of course, you can transplant them from other parts of the body, but it is not known how they will take root. There is a high risk that the fat will constantly be absorbed, unevenly on the right and left legs. Smoothing out your shins by adding more fat can be a never-ending process.
Corrective gymnastics
Now let's look at an effective set of exercises aimed at correcting legs with an o-shaped curvature:
- Walk on the inside of your foot.
- Do about 20 squats, keeping your toes as far apart as possible.
- Stand up straight, lift your leg and move it as wide as possible to the side. Repeat the same exercise with the second one.
- Sit with your hands on the floor and your legs straight. Begin to lift your limbs one at a time, while making sure that the leg remains perfectly level.
- Lie on the floor, close your legs and begin to slowly raise and lower them. At the same time, make sure that your torso remains motionless.
- Stand on one leg, straighten the other as much as possible and move it to the side. Do about 15 swings, then change the support and repeat the exercise.
- Sit on the floor and clasp your leg with both palms, and then slowly lift it and try to hold this position for at least 5 seconds. After this, change limbs and repeat the exercise.
- Lie on the floor on your side and alternately lift your straightened legs up.
The average workout duration should be at least half an hour. Start each session with a warm-up. You should train daily, and to achieve the fastest and most positive results, do such corrective gymnastics 2 times a day. When performing any exercises, try to keep your back as straight as possible and your stomach pulled in. Now let's briefly look at effective exercises for x-shaped legs:
- Do squats. Start with 15-20 repetitions, gradually increasing the number of approaches. Squats with a rubber ball pre-clamped between your ankles give a good effect.
- While standing, lunge with your leg to the side, pulling your toe as far as possible.
- Walk on the outside of your foot (10 steps each).
- Practice on the wall bars. Raising your legs on the floor stairs allows you to achieve very good results.
- Lie on your stomach, spread your knees as far apart as possible, and then try to connect your feet together.
Expert opinion
Igor Bely, Doctor of Medical Sciences, plastic surgeon at the Ottimo Clinic:
– Before making a decision, evaluate whether you really need the services of a surgeon. Although leg reshaping is a safe procedure, it is still an operation. Of course, if for some reason you are not satisfied with the result, the implant can be removed; moreover, the incision when removing it will be even smaller than when installing it. However, why would you need to subject yourself to surgery once again? Also keep in mind that the operation has contraindications - heart disease, lung disease, liver disease, varicose veins.
Correction of the shape of the legs without surgery
At an early age, it is possible to radically correct the shape of the legs with the help of physical exercises, special fixation devices, and massage. To do this, you need to contact a pediatric orthopedist or surgeon as soon as possible.
After the completion of the formation of the skeleton in adults, the effect of exercises can only be with a slight false deformation of the lower extremities. For this purpose, special physical therapy complexes have been developed. Useful exercises include jogging, cycling, swimming, jumping rope, and climbing stairs.
Expert: Natalya Dolgopolova, general practitioner Author: Tatyana Uzonina
The material uses photographs belonging to shutterstock.com
Imperfect, but successful
Lucy Liu . Because of her short, crooked legs, evil tongues behind her back call Lucy Liu a “riding instructor.” We can say with confidence that gossipers are simply jealous of the actress: despite this small defect, she is on the list of the most beautiful and sexiest women in the world, receives $5 million for her role, and her list of fans includes the handsome George Clooney, the famous screenwriter and director Zach Helm , and she was also credited with an affair with strongman Vladimir Klitschko.
Christina Aguilera If you type in the phrase “Christina Aguilera's crooked legs” into any Internet search engine, you will be amazed at the huge number of links and photographs illustrating this statement. Yes, indeed, the singer’s legs slightly resemble a wheel, but this fact does not hinder her at all either in her career or in her personal life. Christina is on the list of the sexiest stars in Hollywood, releases hit albums (discs with her songs have sold a total of about 42 million copies!), is married, and has a son.
Sarah Jessica Parker Curvature is not a reason to wear floor-length skirts and curse fate. Just remember Sarah Jessica Parker - one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood has never had a complex about her not straight legs. In almost every episode of Sex and the City she appears in short dresses, shorts or tight pants. Mind you, she looks damn good in all these outfits. By the way, everything is fine in the actress’s personal life: she is married and has two children.
