Your Short Leg Matters

Get a Spinal Health Check-up

About this Video

Hey Champ,

Have you ever felt like you have one leg shorter than the other? Even slightly?

Are your shoes looking uneven with one wearing faster?

You could have a condition called leg length discrepancy (LLD).

Leg length discrepancies are an increasing common secondary condition that presents to our practice- with 60% of the population estimated to be affected by this condition.

This condition not only affects your legs, but your WHOLE body.

It can lead to and be the cause of compensatory spine, pelvis, knee and ankle issues.

Even worse, it alters the foundation for which the spine is based- predisposing your individual vertebrae to subluxate.

In this short video, I’ll explain some interesting research on the effects of a short leg.

Leg length discrepancies can be likened to the alignment of the tyres on your car. The slightest misalignment to your wheels will cause your tread to wear down faster and in an uneven manner. Additionally, your engine will have to work harder due to the impact on efficiency.

1.   Murray KJ, Molyneux T, Le Grande MR, et al. Association of mild leg length discrepancy and degenerative changes in the hip joint and lumbar spine. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2017;40:320–329. 

2.   The Effects of Leg Length Discrepancy on Stability and Kinematics-Kinetics Deviations: A Systematic Review

3.   Eliks, M., Ostiak-Tomaszewska, W., Lisiński, P., & Koczewski, P. (2017). Does structural leg-length discrepancy affect postural control? Preliminary study. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 18(1), 346. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-017-1707-x 

4.   Anatomic and functional leg-length inequality: A review and recommendation for clinical decision-making. Part II, the functional or unloaded leg-length asymmetry



5.   Harvey WF, Yang M, Cooke TD, et al. Association of leg-length inequality with knee osteoarthritis: a cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152:287–295 

If you are not sure whether you have a short leg or not, next time you are in the practice speak to Dr Ben or Dr Callum about it and they will do a quick review of your x-ray results. Watch this video first so you will understand what the results mean for you.

Cheers Dr. Ben and Dr Callum

Ps. Given that 60% of the population have this condition it might be worth you understanding it, even if you think you haven’t got it.