Do You Suffer From A Leg Length Problem? 8 Out Of 10 People Do…

  • 10 Mar 2015 8:00 AM
Do You Suffer From A Leg Length Problem? 8 Out Of 10 People Do…
…according to Muscle Activation Techniques Specialist, Ryan Phillips: “It's very common to have one leg shorter than the other and during my 5+ years of practice, around 8 out of 10 people I've seen suffer from this condition. Despite it being common, it is by no means normal.” Ryan suggests that a leg length discrepancy (LLD) can vary from just a few millimeters to several centimeters and in his experience, even just a few millimeters of misalignment can be enough to cause pain in the foot, knee, hip, back, shoulders and neck.

Most common treatment modalities look to treat the site of pain. For example your LLD might be causing plantar fasciitis (pain under the foot) so treatment protocols would be administered to the foot, when it's not actually a foot problem at all.

Resolving your LLD and restoring good alignment could potentially alleviate your foot pain immediately, without any direct treatment to the foot.

Ryan continues, “In only about 1 out of 10 people I see with an LLD, it's a result of a bone length difference between the left and the right leg, usually the tibia (shin bone).

I refer to this as a "structural LLD", as the issue is coming from a fixed/bony structural discrepancy. In these rare cases, there is nothing that can be done to correct it (apart from surgery!) so a sole insert in the shorter leg's shoe may be appropriate for these people.”

Ryan shares the good news... “I find that in 9 out of 10 people, the shorter leg is caused by a hip hike which can absolutely be fixed simply by realigning the pelvis. I refer to this as a "functional LLD", as it is caused by a fault in the functioning of the muscular system.

In the majority of cases it's the same side hip that is hiked corresponding to the shorter leg when in a lying position. When standing, this hip hike can be reversed because the shorter leg will have to reach further down for the foot to touch the ground pulling the same side hip down with it. This results in the opposite side hip hiking up in a standing position.”

“Every single case of functional LLD I've seen I've been able to correct by treating the muscular dysfunction present in several specific core muscles. When muscles lose the ability to contract optimally due to stress, injury or overuse, other muscles tighten up as a protective mechanism.

This creates abnormal and uneven pull on the pelvis causing one side to hike up (lateral pelvic tilt). By treating the muscular dysfunction enabling muscles to contract properly, we get an immediate release in those tight muscles resulting in a repositioning of the pelvis back to its optimal position.”

Ryan reports that within a 60 minute treatment a functional LLD can more often than not, be corrected. Depending on the severity of the leg length difference, a few sessions may be needed.

To book a free initial consultation and assessment please contact Ryan Phillips on 0036202991649 or email him by clicking here

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