How To Find Out If My Leg Is Longer Than The Other?
Leg length differences are somewhat common in the population but in the majority of cases the difference between the two legs is going to be less than significant. If you do have a leg that is longer than the other it will inevitably have consequences higher up the chain for your lower back.
The main issues with leg length differences are that they lead to a degree of asymmetry in weight bearing and the way in which you use your body. As this left to right balance moves into the spine it is resolved at the level of the sacroiliac joints and lumbosacral junction.
This can mean that there is an asymmetrical stress coming up from the feet. Remember, even if there are degrees of asymmetry in your leg lengths, when it comes to lower back injuries, strengthening is the answer. Improving the ability of your musculature to manage forces going through the body will be a primary importance. Of course there are times where the leg length difference will be more noticeable, static positions where you’re perhaps lifting, or walking around the shops, or waiting in a line.
In these scenarios, we want to be careful to make sure that our leg length measurements, have been accurate. All too often people are told there are leg length differences, and these are based on extremely inaccurate measuring techniques.
Sometimes this can even mean they tell you the wrong leg is short!
Things like a diagnosis of a short leg can really play on the mind of an individual and can sometimes be used as a scapegoat for lower back pain and this is no good. Whether or not you’ve been “diagnosed” with a leg length discrepancy.
Doing progressive strengthening work will help the overall health, wellbeing and resilience of your lumbar spine and pelvic region.
