Question
I first noticed a difference in the length of my legs about eight years ago when I was a sophomore in high school. I had just come back from a run and noticing pain in my back, I began to stretch and realized my left leg was longer than my right. Since then, I've seen chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists (but not consistantly), and I have an appointment with an acupuncturist next week. I've been told a multitude of different reasons guessing what could have caused all my pain in my lower back, neck, and knees (mostly on my right side, the side with the shorter leg), for example, having head-gear that caused the atlis to tilt effecting the rest of me, tight muscles, bone structure, etc. What I'm wanting to know is if acupuncture can help determine if my leg length discrepency is from tightened muscles pulling on my bones causing one leg to shorten, or if it is truly because my left leg is longer than my right. If the later is true, what is the best method of treatment? My goal is to be aligned to the point that this doesn't effect the rest of my daily life. Also, I'd like to know if waiting so long (eight years) to try and correct this has compounded the problem. Thank-you for your insight.

Answer
Hello Melissa,

   The only way to tell if you have a "True" Leg Length Deficiency is through x-ray form the lumbar spine to the feet.  This way the bones can be measured to determine if there is a anatomically short leg.  Usually the cause of a short leg is due to musculature imbalances, especially in the hip.  The glutes and TFL (when tight or spasm)pull the femur up into the hip socket, thus causing a imbalance and uneven leg length.  They way to correct the muscle imbalance is through soft tissue work on the affected muscles and adjusting the joint to make sure you alignment is correct.  Treatment may take longer since your body over the past eight years has been compensating for the short leg.  You may want to find a doctor who specializes in Sport/ Soft tissue injuries as they will be familiar with your condition.

Have a great day,
Dr. Brendon O'Brien D.C.