Leg length inequality is widespread.
Leg length inequality has an effect on joints in
the knee and hip and spine. Knee,
hip and back pain may follow. The Burlington and Hamilton
chiropractic examination at Spinal Care Clinic includes an analysis of leg length inequality and, depending on
the discrepancy, the Burlington and Hamilton chiropractic treatment
plan will fix it with a heel lift to potentially
prevent issues like hip joint
arthritic degeneration, knee and back pain.
SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT INCIDENCE OF SHORT LEG
No one shares that he or she has one
shorter leg than the other. It is not a typical
conversation starter! But 90% of us has an inequality of more
than 1 cm! Only 10% of us has precisely equal leg lengths. Just
10%! Leg length inequality equalizes us all.
- Hip and knee problems
appear in more patients who have leg length differences
over 5 mm.
- Hip issues typically occur in the long leg side. Knee conditions
are more apt to be more typical in
either leg – shorter or longer.
- Low back pain conditions happen
more commonly on the short leg side.
Authors of the newest review of many
papers written on leg length inequality found that the majority
of papers find differences of greater than 2 cm are a problem while differences
of just 5 mm can lead to long-term issues.
(1) Considering these facts, Spinal Care Clinic finds it important
to address leg length discrepancies to avoid painful issues as much as possible.
PREVENTION OF HIP JOINT ARTHRITIC DEGENERATION
Want to prevent hip joint arthritic degeneration?
Young and old alike do. Those who have a short leg, the contact forces in the joints in the short leg were
increased as the leg length difference increased. The greater the difference, the greater the contact forces in the
short leg. Why does this matter? These forces wear
on the hip joint the most as the leg length difference increases. (2) The
older of us will want to stop further irritation, and the younger
of us will want to prevent long-term exposure to irritation and
future joint degeneration. A short leg bothers our joints.
Burlington and Hamilton CHIROPRACTIC CARE OF SHORT LEG
Chiropractors like yours at Spinal Care Clinic know short legs affect knees, backs and hips. We were trained in
chiropractic school to note important issues like leg
length inequality and deal with them. Chiropractors find
that correction of leg length difference of 5 mm or more is positive.
The goal is to have no more than a 3 mm difference in leg length, and heel lifts are used to correct
up to 9 mm difference, but a 10 mm or more needs a
shoe build-up of the full difference under the heel and 50% the
difference under the sole. (1) Chiropractic education has always included the
diagnosis and treatment of short leg differences. It is important that
to know that an xray Is not required to find and
correct short leg syndrome. Using
“pelvic leveling,” your Burlington and Hamilton chiropractor can do it for
you. Get this important anatomical
factor for good spinal and general health checked by your
chiropractor so proper correction can be made. Keep in mind,
chiropractors like yours at Spinal Care Clinic see more than the general percent
of persons with short leg because it causes spine pain. Spinal Care Clinic sees and
helps a lot of spine pain! Consequently,
by correcting short leg difference in younger years of life, we can prevent
degenerative conditions of the spine and extremities that cause pain and
disability in middle age and beyond.
CONTACT Spinal Care Clinic
Check out podcasts of patient cases
and conditions on The Back Doctors
Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson to hear how effectively Cox® Technic addresses
back pain and brings relief for a multitude of spine-related pain conditions.
Schedule your Burlington and Hamilton
chiropractic appointment. Spinal Care Clinic will welcome you into the fold of the 90%-of-people-have-a-short leg group…or not! Count
on Spinal Care Clinic to help you with all your spine issues!