Massage therapy · Kitchener–WaterlooRickets

Rickets is the weakening and softening of bones in children. It is usually caused by not getting enough vitamin D or calcium (NHS, 2025). Vitamin D helps the body control its levels of calcium and phosphate, the minerals the bones need. When the body does not have enough vitamin D, the bones cannot keep proper calcium and phosphate levels, which can cause rickets to occur (MedlinePlus, 2024).

If a lack of vitamin D or calcium causes rickets, treating the deficiency can often correct the bone problems for your child (MedlinePlus, 2024). If the condition is due to genetics or another medical problem, other treatment may be needed. Some deformities caused by the condition may need to be corrected with surgery (NHS, 2025).

Rickets mostly affects children. When adults have soft, weak bones from the same causes, the condition is called osteomalacia (NHS, 2025).

The Effects of Rickets

How to Treat Rickets

Treatments you may want to discuss with your family doctor or nurse practitioner

Tips

• Rickets is most likely to occur during periods of rapid growth, and is seen in children aged 6 to 24 months (MedlinePlus, 2024).
• Darker skin needs more sun exposure to make enough vitamin D, so children with brown or black skin are at higher risk, especially in winter (NHS, 2025; MedlinePlus, 2024; Munns et al., 2016).
• Children living in places with little sunlight, or who spend most of their time indoors, are at an increased risk of developing the condition (MedlinePlus, 2024).
• In the UK, we cannot make enough vitamin D from sunlight between September and March (NHS, 2025).
• Breast milk does not supply enough vitamin D (MedlinePlus, 2024). The NHS advises giving your baby vitamin D drops from birth if they are exclusively breastfed, or if they are under 6 months old and have less than 500ml of formula a day (NHS, 2025).
• Some forms of rickets run in families (hereditary rickets), and some are caused by kidney or liver problems (MedlinePlus, 2024).
• See a family doctor or nurse practitioner if you think your child might have rickets (NHS, 2025).

With rickets, your child's medical team leads the care: they treat the cause, usually with vitamin D and calcium, and decide whether a brace or surgery is needed. Massage can't straighten bowed legs or reshape bones, but it can help with the aches, tight or tired muscles and stiffness that can come with them.

Please bring any X-ray or scan reports and notes from your child's medical team to the first visit. They're an important part of planning safe treatment for your child.

I assess how your child stands, walks and moves, and check what the team has said about activity. Parents are welcome to sit in, with your child's agreement. While the bones are soft, I keep pressure light and never force a stretch or joint.

How I Can Help

1. NHS (2025) Rickets and osteomalacia. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/rickets-and-osteomalacia/ (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
2. MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine (2024) Rickets. Available at: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000344.htm (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
3. Munns, C.F. et al. (2016) 'Global consensus recommendations on prevention and management of nutritional rickets', Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 101(2), pp. 394–415. doi: 10.1210/jc.2015-2175. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4880117/ (Accessed: 7 October 2026).
4. NHS (2020) Vitamin D. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/ (Accessed: 8 October 2026).