Have your child stand straight up with his heels together, his stomach sucked in and his breath held.
Take a yardstick and measure the distance between his two outermost protruding hip points.
Record this measurement in the space provided on Worksheet A.
Leg Mechanics:
This is a measurement of the degree to which a child is either bowlegged or knock-kneed.
Have you child stand barefooted and in shorts with his back against the wall. His legs should be slightly relaxed.
. He should bring his feet together. If he cannot bring his feet together without his knees touching first, he is knock-kneed. If his feet come together and there is still a space between his knees, he is bowlegged. If his knees and feet meet simultaneously then he is neither knock-kneed or bowlegged.
If he is knock-kneed; have him stand with his knees slightly touching. Arrange his feet to be exactly parallel to one another. Measure the distance of the space from the inside left part of his ankle bone to the inside right ankle bone.
If bowlegged; have him stand with his feet together and measure the distance between the inside portion of his left knee and the inside portion of his right knee.
Record the number of inches he is either knock-kneed or bowlegged in the space provided in Worksheet A. If he is neither, mark a 0 in both spots on the Worksheet.
Tibial Torsion:
This is a measure of the degree to which a child is either duckfooted or pigeon-toed. These conditions create differing degrees of torque up through the bones of his lower leg while running.
Have your child stand with his feet apart at hip width.
Have him put all his weight on one leg and lift the other foot slightly off the floor.
Using your hands, line up his unweighted knee so that it points directly forward Keeping that knee in position have him step down onto the foot once again.
With a plastic angle, measure the degree to which the toes are pointed inward or outward. The measurement should be taken from a point on the floor that is lined up with center part of his knee.
Repeat the procedure for the opposite foot.
Place both angle scores in the space provided on Worksheet A.
