Why do footballers have bow legs | Causes explained in DETAILS

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Recently we noticed that many footballers we watch on TVs have bow legs, then we took a look at some retired footballers and how their legs appear to be like. But the result is almost the same in both the retired footballers and the ones that are still active. 

Most of these players especially the ones that are dribble monsters usually posess this thing we call bow legs. Whether it is natural or not natural we will discuss that in this article. 

We know certainly most football fans might have been wondering why many footballers have bow legs that is why we took our time to make research and find answer to the question. Sit back and read on to get the answer to this query in details.

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Why do footballers have bow legs? In the research we made it is natural for footballers and athlete to get bow legs due to the intense training they go through. The level at which they make use of their legs and knees is a major factor that bends the legs which eventually leads to bow legs.

Footballers develop bowlegs majorly because of stress and strains placed on the legs and knees when kicking the ball, tackling and marking, some whilst playing the game of football. In this article we will discuss:

Table of Contents

Reasons why footballers have bowed legs

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1. Intense training
2. Players' posture
3. Dribbling
4. Ball kicking


Here are the four major reasons why footballers have both legs.

1. Intense training - This is one of the causes of bow legs in football. A series of intense training session can results in a serious and obvious change of a footballer's knee position. 

The human knee is designed to allow movement, when footballers are in training they make a lot of movement especially with their legs. The leg that is used to run the same leg is used to kick the ball and even to dribble in training. Once this movement occurs too frequently the cartilage located in the human knee begins to wear a way.

Not the whole region wears away, just a particular angle wears away little by little which is as a result of friction caused by the frequent movement of the leg. The legs begin to bend and form a V-shape after the cartilage located in the knee begins to wear away. 

Football may not directly cause bow legs but too much movement of the knee joint wears away the cartilage in it and this in return gives the leg a bow-shape. 


2. Players' posture - The posture a player give to his body could actually decide if he will get a bow leg. This is why it is necessary to maintain a good posture while performing physical activities or exercise. 

A footballer who is found of bending their foot inwardly we get a bowleg sooner or later, because this is the exact posture the bow legs gives to the leg. It is just like creating a vacuum for the bow leg to start forming . 

So if a player want to avoid bowlegs such player should maintain a straight standing posture and a V- shaped foot posture (except your foot posture points straight forward).

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3. Dribbling - Dribbling is one of the ways football is being played. It is a concept on its own. Not every football players can dribble but the ones that really know how to do it have got their legs formed into a bow leg. Examples of players that dribble and have gotten bow legs are Lionel Messi, Neymar Junior, Eden Hazard, Jack Grealish etc. 

But some players does dribblling but they don't develop bow legs and why is that? Players like Cristiano Ronaldo does dribbling but doesn't have his legs shaped into a bow shape, this is because he is very athletic and he spend much time in the gym.

Naturally he's got a straight leg and a tall height which does not really give way for bending. To dribble in football you have to make use of your own leg beginning from your waist to your knee and down to your foot and even to your toes. 

When a footballer dribbles, he makes use of all his joint in such a way that friction will be felt within the joints. Once this happens frequently the cartilage supporting the knee to keep a normal position will begin to wear away at some particular angle and this give the leg a bow shape. 

In fact dribbling can lead to injury if the joints are over twisted overstrained or even overstretched. There is no way you can dribble without straining your muscles and the result of the frequent straining of muscles could lead to formation of bowed legs.


4. Ball kicking or Playing Posture - The way football is kicked the ball has a wide range of effect it places on their legs. Footballers do not kick the ball any how, they do kick the ball with specific areas of their foot such as the top of the foot the sideways etc.

To kick the ball in the wanted direction the footballer has to bend their foot and knees to provide a platform for them to use the desire and right part of the foot to kick the ball. So the frequent bending of the leg to kick the ball several times can shape the leg into a bowl shape.

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Does football/soccer cause bow legs?

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Football soccer may not directly cause bow legs but the frequent stretching and straining of the leg when playing the game can cause bow legs. The frequent movement of the joint can cause a slight angle shift on the leg and this is what keeps the leg to a bow.

Check out: Most World Cup winners since inauguration | Brazil most successful country

Famous bow-legged football players

Lionel Messi 
Pep Guardiola 
Neymar Junior 
Jack grealish 
Niko Kovac 
Isco Alarcon  
Wesley Fofana
Alexander Arnold

Opeyemi Odenusi

Hi, I'm Opeyemi, a fitness pro and a sport reseacher. I'm here to enlighten and share with you tips and hacks on how to improve your fitness and wellness and also to provide for you relevant informations on sport with a touch of fitness activities that can improve your well-being.

1 Comments

  1. I also noticed this in Messi and many other players, googled it and now I know why. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
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