Recently, I talked about a patient with a leg length problem. Ironically, she came back for her second visit and announced that she was cured. Her back pain was significantly better and she was able to stand and do things she hadn’t done in years. Although thrilled with her progress, I decided to follow up in another week just to make sure there wasn’t another issue lurking in the distance. In the meantime, I added a few more millimeters to her lift just to balance things a bit more.
Later today another patient came in with a persistent lateral shift and a degeneration of her 4th lumbar disc. After a spinal injection, manual therapy, abdominal bracing exercises, stretching and both light therapy and electrotherapeutic point stimulation, she was about 25% better, but I was still determined to see better results. I measured her leg length and noted a 3 centimeter difference, which is significant. When I questioned her about it, she said she did notice it when she bought pants “but blew it off”, just like a sleeve length problem. We decided to try a 5 millimeter lift to start with and I can’t wait to see what will happen in a few days. This might be the key to a better result.
Small leg length problems can cause major back problems. Education about little problems that can grow into bigger ones is key. Leg length should be assessed for every back pain patient. Prevention with a screening for leg length wouldn’t be a bad idea either!
