A frequently asked question for parents and young adults is how to sleep with knock knees. We will be providing some great tips for sleeping alongside various treatment options for knocked knees below.
Knock knees(commonly referred to as k-legs) are a common problem in children between the ages of 4 and 5. By the age of seven, a child with knocked knees usually notices that his or her legs straighten up on their own.
This is not true for everyone, as some people do not grow out of their knock-knees phase and continue to be knock-kneed into adulthood, and others for the rest of their lives if not successfully corrected.
What Exactly Are Knock Knees?
Knock knees are defined as a curvature around the lower legs that creates the appearance of a large gap between the ankles.
The knees are constantly touching and rubbing against each other as the ankles remain spread apart.
As you might expect, the constant “knocking” of the knees can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort.
This is especially true while sleeping because your knees are constantly knocking against each other as you toss and turn.
It is not uncommon for someone with knocked knees to wake up with knee pain as a result of the night’s constant knee-knocking.
How to Sleep With Knock Knees
If you want to sleep better at night, you should learn how to sleep with knock knees.
- The first thing you should do is purchase a hard-to semi-hard pillow. Every night, as you’re about to fall asleep, place this pillow between your legs and do your best to keep it there while you sleep.
When you wake up in the morning, you may notice that the pillow has moved to the other side of the bed, which is normal. As long as you sleep with the hard pillow between your legs, it should keep your knees from rubbing too much against each other.
- If you can find a circular-shaped pillow, that’s even better because they tend to stay in place around the knees while you sleep.
- Not everyone has hard pillows lying around that they can use, so just use two pillows between your knees instead.
- Another suggestion is to sleep on your side with your knees slightly bent. Sleeping with the pillow in between your knees will help keep your knees from rubbing against each other too much.
- Sleeping on your side with your knees slightly bent also allows your knees to follow a natural curve, reducing stress on your knees.
What Should You Avoid When Sleeping With Knock Knees?
Now that we’ve covered the best tips for sleeping with knocked knees, let’s look at what you should avoid while sleeping with knocked knees.
- To begin, you should avoid sleeping in awkward leg positions such as:
- Sleeping with one leg raised above the other.
- Sleeping with one leg dangling over the side of the bed. This can aggravate your knee misalignment by putting undue strain on your muscles and joints.
- Sleeping on your stomach with your head turned sideways can cause certain muscles to become misaligned, exacerbating the pain associated with your knock knees.
How to Correct Knock Knees
how to get rid of knock knees in a week
It is one thing to learn how to sleep with knock knees, but you must also be aware of the various options available to actually fix the problem.
Some of the best ways to repair knock knees are as follows:
1. Knee Brace/Support
Knee braces can help some people with mild knock knees correct their knees.
Knock knee braces assist in keeping your knees in proper alignment.
The only disadvantage of wearing knock knee braces is that they must be worn all day to keep your legs straight.
This does not work for everyone because these braces can be bulky and difficult to walk in.
2. Exercises for Knock Knees
Many people suffer from knock knees as a result of weak abductor muscles. Strengthening these muscles through specific exercises is one way to correct knock knees. Side lunges are one of the best knock knee exercises you can do. Side lunges strengthen and stretch the abductor muscles around your hips and thighs.
To do proper side lunges, follow the steps below:
- To begin, you should stand up straight with your feet slightly apart.
- Go ahead and take one step to the right with your arms to your sides.
- As you take this big step to the right, ensure your right knee bends to a 90-degree angle and your left leg stays straight.
- Return to the starting position once you feel your hips and thighs contract slightly.
- Before switching to the left side, repeat this simple exercise at least ten times.
Repeatedly performing exercises like the side lunge will strengthen your weak hip abductor muscles, gradually improving your knock knees.
If you’re looking for more exercises to help with knock knee correction, check out this article.
3. Knee Replacement Surgery
When non-surgical options such as bracing or knock knee shoes fail, surgery is the only option. Knocked knee surgery will have two options: osteotomy or guided growth surgery. Osteotomy is a highly invasive surgery that is only performed on adults.
Meanwhile, because small children’s bones are still developing, guided growth surgery is reserved for them.
If you want to learn more about knock knee surgery costs and the procedure, you can read the article by clicking here.
Conclusion
These pillow positioning tips will undoubtedly assist you in learning how to sleep with knock knees.
Try them tonight to get a good night’s sleep and to wake up without pain in your knees and lower legs caused by this deformity.
Also, in addition to adjusting your pillow between your legs while sleeping, try some of the knock knee correction methods mentioned above.
Exercises such as lunges and yoga pose for knock knees such as the hero pose can help keep your knees straight.
Consult with an experienced orthopedic surgeon about wearing a knee brace.
If your malalignment isn’t too severe, a good orthopedist will be able to customize a knee brace for you that could potentially realign it.
Aside from treating the problem and learning how to sleep with it at night, you can also learn how to hide knocked knees while walking so you don’t feel self-conscious as you go about your day.
