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Are Your Legs the Same Length?
Dr. Don Parkerson, Jr.
If you have visited our
clinic, you know that we often use bowling shoes to accurately measure our
patients’ leg lengths. What you may not
know is that this simple test may be the most important indicator of your
overall spinal health.
What is the importance of leg length?
One of
the most critical functions of our upper cervical adjustment is balancing our
patients’ leg lengths. Those of you who
are patients in our clinic understand the great strides we take to ensure that
our patients’ legs are balanced precisely.
When a new patient arrives in our clinic, one of the
1st things that Dr. Neal and I do on their initial consultation is
measure that patient’s leg length while they lie on their back. If we determine that one leg appears shorter,
that indicates the patient has a spinal imbalance that may be causing physical
symptoms.
One of the most common misconceptions is that most
people naturally have one leg shorter than the other. While it may be true that many people are
walking around on a short leg, research has shown that 90% of those short legs
will correct with our upper cervical procedure.
In other words, in 90% of patients, their legs
developed normally and grew to the same length.
However, spinal misalignment may have caused one leg to be functionally
shorter than the other.
Why bowling shoes?
Our patients have a lot of fun at our expense
regarding the bowling shoes, and rightfully so.
They’re not the most fashionable footwear. However, the role that these shoes play in
our Orthospinology procedure is critical to our results with every patient.
As I stated earlier, measuring leg length accurately
is likely the most crucial element in determining spinal balance. As such, the bowling shoes provide the most
accurate leg length evaluation possible.
Imagine trying to determine if your right leg is 1/8
of an inch short when you are wearing sandals or work boots. There is far too much error in the shoes
themselves to have any degree of reliability in results of the leg check.
What does a short leg have to do with
my neck?
Anatomically, our brain,
brainstem, and spinal cord is created in such a way
that certain spinal cord tracts near the top of your spine determine leg
length.
If you’re scientifically
inclined, the lateral spinothalamic tracts run along
the sides of your spinal cord and can become irritated, or impinged by a
misalignment at the C1 (Atlas) and C2 (Axis) levels. This cord irritation then sets off a chain of
spinal events, of which the ultimate result is one leg being functionally
shorter than the other.
Take a look at the diagram to
the right. This demonstrates how a
misalignment in the top of your spine causes a lower back imbalance, which
subsequently creates a functionally short leg.
Short legs in herniated
discs & sciatica
Research
has shown the connection between lower back problems and having a functionally
short leg. Again, I am referring to a
leg being functionally shorter because of spinal imbalance, which does not mean
that one leg actually developed differently than the other.
Dr.
James Cox found in his research that herniated lumbar discs and sciatic pain
predominantly occur on the opposite side of a short leg. In other words, if you have a herniated disc
causing sciatica in your right leg, it is likely that your left leg is shorter
than your right.
Likewise,
research has shown that hip pain, sacro-iliac (SI)
pain, and osteoarthritis typically also occur on the side opposite of the short
leg. If your right leg is short, then
your left hip and left SI joint are under greater mechanical stresses. Thus, you will typically develop pain or
arthritis in your left hip or SI joint quicker if you have a right short leg.
Try it at home
You can try this simple leg
length test at home. While it’s not as
nearly accurate as our checks in the office, it is a do-it-yourself test of
your own spinal balance, or those you might love.
Put on a pair of dress shoes
with a square, flat heel. Then, lie on
your back with your feet hanging off either a very firm bed or the top of
stairs. While attempting to hold your
legs as straight as possible, have someone observe the lengths of your legs.
If it appears that
one leg is shorter than the other, your spine is likely misaligned in a way
that could be corrected by a chiropractic adjustment.
For further information on this topic, you may contact
Dr. Parkerson at 770.952.5353, by email at Parkerson@humberparkerson.com,
or visit our clinic on the web at www.HumberParkerson.com.
The Highest Level is the monthly e-mail newsletter of
the
© Humber Parkerson Clinic 2007
February 2007 issue of The Highest
Level
