Is there any way to prevent developing bowlegs if you sprint/play soccer from a young age?

[PolisCommov]

You see many soccer players develop it, apparently has to do with the way they rely on the movement of one side of their knees when they play or something. I've heard it also is a thing in sprinting from a young age - possibly from bad form, the legs swinging incorrectly kind of like a girl?

I wanted to cope and say it's just people inclined to have this genetic defect but it seems like virtually most people can develop this if they fuck themselves with improper athletic movement.

I heard someone say they see this less though in taller soccer players but I don't know if that was their selection bias or if there is something to do this, what do you think?

Is it actually just because many players come from places like Brazil and were poor, so they had bad general health genetics and environment as a kid?

 

[PolisCommov]

Examples:

 

[Insufferable]

avoid overtraining, use proper footwear, focus on leg alignment + gait, strengthen the important muscle groups and maintain healthy vit D and calcium levels

 

[PolisCommov]

avoid overtraining, use proper footwear, focus on leg alignment + gait, strengthen the important muscle groups and maintain healthy vit D and calcium levels

what do you consider proper footwear in this context? like what shoes would fuck you up inclining you towards developing bowlegs?

How should you focus on alignment, do you mean everyday standing or in sport movement? I know you should strengthen your legs but what areas to focus on would help prevent this?

 

[PolisCommov]

Also, apparently stuff like surgery for bowlegs is usually done on kids around toddler age, are most basically fucked if they develop it/becomes pronounced when they are older around their teenage years?

 

[NoaA99]

Stop as soon as you can.
I love soccer, but it's undeniably damaging on the joints and bones. Our ancestors relied on short bursts of explosive, dynamic movement, usually during hunting, and after a successful kill, they had food that lasted for days or even weeks.

In soccer, however, this kind of intense process is repeated multiple times within a single match and potentially hundreds of times each week. This constant strain is not healthy, nor natural. I do not know, how people can still claim this.

 

[Insufferable]

what do you consider proper footwear in this context? like what shoes would fuck you up inclining you towards developing bowlegs?

How should you focus on alignment, do you mean everyday standing or in sport movement? I know you should strengthen your legs but what areas to focus on would help prevent this?

I mean like arch surpport, examples of good boots would be the nike tiempo legend 10, adidas copa pure 3, puma future ultimate and some cleats allow insole removal so you can get a custom one if you want. Costs a boatload though im pretty sure.
bad boot examples are things like nike mercurial vapor and adidas crazy fast. And just in general I would avoid vans, crocs, converse and most slides.

for alignment hip abductors, glute medius, glutes and hamstrings, vastus medialis oblique train that with wall sits and a ball between ur knees, for ankles tibialis anterior trained with heel walks. calf raises and restricted ankle mobility work

 

[PolisCommov]

Stop as soon as you can.
I love soccer, but it's undeniably damaging on the joints and bones. Our ancestors relied on short bursts of explosive, dynamic movement, usually during hunting, and after a successful kill, they had food that lasted for days or even weeks.

In soccer, however, this kind of intense process is repeated multiple times within a single match and potentially hundreds of times each week. This constant strain is not healthy, nor natural. I do not know, how people can still claim this.

But how much do you have to play it before you start getting fucked up, and at what age is actually gonna cause bowlegs? Is it actually a serious risk if someone starts playing for the first time at 9 years old vs 4 years old? Lets say they play every year after that and do community league level sports, or say they go professional.

I never noticed it in soccer players until someone mentioned it, but don't many of them still not have bowlegs? Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't have it right? Do you think being tall saves you from bowlegs more, I hear it's usually seen in shorter players (maybe this has to do with them coming from a worse environment and they had worse nutrition)?

 

[Insufferable]

Also, apparently stuff like surgery for bowlegs is usually done on kids around toddler age, are most basically fucked if they develop it/becomes pronounced when they are older around their teenage years?

todlers dont usually get surgery like that because early in life it self corrects overtime, and u can correct it if ur growth plates are still open and no you dont need surgery if ur only a mild case but you could get growth modulation surgery if a pediatric orthopedic surgeon (consult one) recommends it

 

[Insufferable]

But how much do you have to play it before you start getting fucked up, and at what age is actually gonna cause bowlegs? Is it actually a serious risk if someone starts playing for the first time at 9 years old vs 4 years old? Lets say they play every year after that and do community league level sports, or say they go professional.

I never noticed it in soccer players until someone mentioned it, but don't many of them still not have bowlegs? Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't have it right? Do you think being tall saves you from bowlegs more, I hear it's usually seen in shorter players (maybe this has to do with them coming from a worse environment and they had worse nutrition)?

yeah its mostly because of nutrition, makes growth less robust. and sometimes its just genetics that shorter players suffer from that cause it

and no height usually doesnt save you from it, Ronaldo just has S tier conditioning and training, plus habits

 

[NoaA99]

But how much do you have to play it before you start getting fucked up, and at what age is actually gonna cause bowlegs? Is it actually a serious risk if someone starts playing for the first time at 9 years old vs 4 years old? Lets say they play every year after that and do community league level sports, or say they go professional.

I never noticed it in soccer players until someone mentioned it, but don't many of them still not have bowlegs? Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't have it right? Do you think being tall saves you from bowlegs more, I hear it's usually seen in shorter players (maybe this has to do with them coming from a worse environment and they had worse nutrition)?

This really varies from person to person. Personally, I experienced issues after playing soccer from age 3 to 17, though I also had undiagnosed flat feet, hallux valgus, and generally poor skeletal development. So your resilience may be entirely different.

That said, soccer isn't natural or healthy for the human body.
The same goes for activities like regular weightlifting and high-intensity training.
Some people believe our ancestors sprinted all day and carried heavy loads regularly, but that’s simply not accurate. These activities place chronic stress on the body, and that stress accumulates over time- especially when you factor in poor modern developmental patterns, environmental toxins, and suboptimal nutrition.

As for a possible correlation between bow legs and shorter stature, I haven’t looked into that, so I can’t provide a reasonable answer for that.