Question
I am 16 years old and have a hereditary bowing disease passed down through my grandparents. My grandmother says that her grandmother’s legs were much worse than mine, and there is about 5 centimeters of space between my two knees. My family never paid attention to it when I was young, so I never received any treatment. I want to know if there is still a chance for treatment at my age? How can I increase the distance between my two knees?
Answer
Bowing disease, also known as rickets due to vitamin D deficiency, is a systemic, chronic, nutritional disease characterized by bone inflammation caused by insufficient vitamin D in infants, children, and adolescents, leading to disordered calcium and phosphorus metabolism. The principle of treatment should be based on oral administration, with a general dose of 2000IU to 4000IU per day, or 1,25-OH2-D3 0.5μg to 2.0μg. After a month, the preventive dose is changed to 400IU per day. High-dose treatment should be strictly indicated. For severe cases of bowing disease with complications or those who cannot take oral medication, vitamin D can be administered intramuscularly in a high dose of 200,000IU to 300,000IU once, and the preventive dose is changed after 3 months. A re-examination should be conducted after one month of treatment. If there are no signs of complete recovery in clinical symptoms, blood tests, or skeletal X-rays, it should be differentiated from antivitamin D rickets.