Short leg syndrome? - JP Fitness Forums

gardener · 10-01-2006, 07:20 PM

I don't know if this topic has come up, but.. I'm probably the oldest person frequenting JPF, and am in reasonably good shape. But twice this year I've had really bad upper leg/hip pains after walking a block or two. (Other times I can walk miles w/o problems.) I walk anyway, even with pain, but this causes marital disagreement: I don't want to give in to pain.

I've never been to a chiropractor, but at the insistence of a friend I went to her guy last Friday. I should mention that my trainer constantly says my posture needs work, that I have a tendency away from erect stance. Anyway, the chiropractor was okay.. didn't use the word "subluxations" or show me a model of the spine. But he did say my left leg was longer than my right and that this causes me to overcompensate in harmful ways. He put a pad in my right heel (shoe) of 7 ml. and said come back in a week. The pad seems to work.

Question: is there anything to this diagnosis? Treatment? Do I feel better because of a placebo effect?

RobLL · 10-01-2006, 07:54 PM

I am never sure that someone really has a short leg, but I have read that there are many factors affecting leg position, which can make it appear one leg is shorter. If a pad brings relief I suspect that it would be real relief, and not just

drs · 10-02-2006, 05:48 AM

Leg length discrepency is a real medical diagnosis. How the treatment helps a patient is variable. It is simple, relatively cheap, and no side-effects. Doesn't get much better than that is the world of medicine.

bryanc · 10-02-2006, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drs

Leg length discrepency is a real medical diagnosis. How the treatment helps a patient is variable. It is simple, relatively cheap, and no side-effects. Doesn't get much better than that is the world of medicine.

Yes, but everyone has leg length discrepancy--the idea that everyone should have perfect bilateral symmetry is bunk. What is your actual leg length discrepancy? The diagnosis of discrepancy can't be made medically unless it's more than 2 cm, I believe; and even then, it's usually NOT because one of your leg bones is longer than the other side, but rather because of some joint issue (for example, some children with congenital hip dysplasia present with leg length discrepancy, but it's because the head of one femur is not articulating with the acetabulum, not because one femur or tibia is longer than the other).

UConnJulie · 10-05-2006, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bryanc

Yes, but everyone has leg length discrepancy--the idea that everyone should have perfect bilateral symmetry is bunk. What is your actual leg length discrepancy? The diagnosis of discrepancy can't be made medically unless it's more than 2 cm, I believe; and even then, it's usually NOT because one of your leg bones is longer than the other side, but rather because of some joint issue (for example, some children with congenital hip dysplasia present with leg length discrepancy, but it's because the head of one femur is not articulating with the acetabulum, not because one femur or tibia is longer than the other).

Yes, this is true, but WHERE the compensation occurs is important ... I have a short tibia on my right side. My sacral base is level as evidenced by a weight-bearing X-Ray. Therefore, while my leg may be "short" it is not causing any spinal compensation (my feet compensate by decreased pronation on the right and increased on the left) which is why a heel-lift has never worked for me.

I say that if you tried a heel-lift and it helps, keep using it ...