I Have a Short Leg, Can Chiropractic Help?

True Short Leg

True Short Leg is where you are born with the bones a different length, or you have an accident that has produced this. This can be due to a sporting injury, car accident or industrial accident where the leg has had to be reset.

The thing your chiropractor has to determine is whether or not this has an effect on your body balance. It is possible that your body has compensated for this without ill effect. In which case you would leave it alone.

However, it is far more common for it to be affecting your body badly. Twisting organs and other bones out of their correct position, thereby giving muscles strain - and eventually resulting in pain, as well as other bad conditions.

There is a thing known as a "heel lift" which can help with this. It is a piece of leather or rubber which is placed under the heel in your shoe, which props up the shortened leg, making it the same height as the other one. This will remove the muscle stress.

Functional Short Leg

The more common type of short leg is called "Functional Short Leg."

Functional Short Leg occurs due to your pelvis rolling back on one side. This pulls up on the leg, making it appear shorter. This can come from an injury to your spine, neck or hip which then makes it compensate for the weakened area. It can happen quite slowly over years, and most people are unaware of it until they get into pain. By this point it has already gone on for a long time!

Is Your Neck the Cause?

You may be surprised to realise that your neck is often the cause of a Functional Short Leg.

How could this possibly be? Your neck seems like a long way removed from your pelvis and feet!

Well, look at it this way. Your neck gets an injury, which twists it slightly out of place. To compensate, your shoulders move out of place so as to try to take the burden. This then pushes your back out of place. And finally, your pelvis rolls to try to take the strain.

Just like lifting a box which is too heavy can make your whole body twist and strain, so can an injury to your neck end up misaligning your whole body, and giving you a Short Leg.

What Can You Do About It?

The sensible thing to do is to get your spine checked. By proper use of x-rays, muscle examination and observation, a chiropractor can determine whether you have a Short Leg - and should be able to determine whether it is True or Functional.

Either way, you'll want to address it before it is beyond repair.

Handled promptly, such conditions are easily remedied.

Chiropractors do what's called a "Chiropractic Adjustment." These are very comfortable procedures these days. There are many non-force methods.

Pelvic imbalance, upper neck problems, are things you may never know about. Seeing a chiropractor makes a lot of sense. It isn't just about headaches and back pain. Chiropractic adjustments have a profound effect on your state of wellbeing for now and in the future.