When we were little, my cousin had bowed legs and the doctor said he just needed vitamins. His legs got better but not completely. There’s a boy down the street with bowed legs and his mother told me it’s Blount disease that causes it and that it will get worse so he’s going to have surgery for a brace thing where wires stick out. What’s the difference?

Although rickets, which is what it sounds like your brother had, and Blount’s disease both cause bowed legs, they are caused by two different things. Rickets is caused by a vitamin deficiency, which results in softening of the bones. With a proper diet, it’s possible to strengthen the bones and prevent further bowing.

With Blount’s disease, the bowing is caused by something different. The shin bone, directly below the knee cap, doesn’t develop properly, so the knee cap can’t work properly. As a result, the child’s legs begin to bow. The only way to reverse this is with bracing, if it’s not too far along, the wires that you mention, and sometimes surgery on the bone itself.