No - not unhinged - though you may be, I couldn't say - but unbalanced. That is, does one side of your body appear lower than the other? Does your head tilt to one side, does one shoulder appear lower than the other, does on hip drop lower than the other? If you stand in front of a mirror with both arms hanging loose to your sides, does one appear to hang a little lower than the other, or does one appear to hang closer or farther away from your sides than the other? When you walk, has anyone ever commented that you look a little crooked, tipped to one side?
If you can answer yes to any of these questions, you may have a leg length discrepancy. If you are a Uni-CF, then odds are even higher that you have such a discrepancy. Yet you may be curious as to why one leg being shorter than the other can cause things like a hip or shoulder appearing lower than it's counterpart, or for your head to tilt a little to one side. This is because when your foundation (just like in a building) is uneven (your legs) then the entire structure will also be uneven. A difference as little as 1/8 inch can cause long-term issues with other parts of your body. But strangely, not everyone reacts - or, compensates - the same as another person might.
This is because we each have somewhat different physical characteristics that make compensation a very personal experience. Some of us have very tight ligament structures, some very loose, and some are somewhere in the middle. This difference can have a lot to do with how a given individual compensates, and to how many different levels of the boy they actually compensate.
This is an introduction to what will be an occasional series looking at how the body compensates for asymmetry. I will be looking at how compensation can present, and how to reverse that compensation when and where it is warranted. Patience - all will be revealed!
Just don't become unhinged, that's all I ask!
Right side post-clubbie here, 49 years old. Pseudo functional foot, but painful after yard work or long walks. My orthopedist took a series of full leg X-rays, hip to feet, and found that my lower right leg is about 20mm too short, plus it has 15% valgus and the ankle is internally rotated. All this caused a misaligned knee, which in turn caused, over the years of active sports, very severe OA, tears in the menisci, and osteophytes in my knee. Luckily, no hip or spinal issues. So, the doc did an osteoplasty to lengthen and realign the lower leg. I am now wearing a Taylor Spatial Frame for a total of 6 months. When that comes out I'm getting a gastroc recession, and some clean up work in the knee. The challenge is in regrowing the cartilage in my knee that I've lost over the years to OA. My goal is to be able to go back to an active lifestyle and some sports (biking, hiking, surfing, etc). That's the theory anyway.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with all that - you have quite the road ahead of you. Stay in touch, let me know how it goes!!
ReplyDelete