Did you know that one in five people have an anatomical short leg of at least 10mm? We see any patients presenting to our Manly Chiropractor office who often tell us that they feel like they seem to have a shorter leg and how they feel “off balance”. Lets take a moment to look at this, the results it has on the body, and how our Chiropractor Manly team can help.

A short leg is a common finding in patients presenting to our practice and can be one of two types.

A structural length difference- an actual difference in the length of the leg bone
A functional length difference- bone lengths are normal, but the body has altered alignment and positioning of the hips, pelvis and lower spine and associated muscles. This second type is where chiropractic can make a dramatic improvement.
The change in alignment is often introduced by a shift in positioning (to help you balance or stay out of back pain, for example) or a condition like scoliosis or even flat feet. Generally the alignment change begins as a compensation for a lack of support or balance somewhere in your body. Your legs really are the same lengths, but your structure took a shift in alignment and made it a part of your posture.

So, if you have a functional leg length difference, you’ll probably have one hip hiked up higher than the other.

Because the reason behind your leg length difference is multi-factorial our treatment approach will also combine a few different approaches with the common goal of bringing back balance, alignment and symmetry to your body. After all what machine doesn’t work best when all of its pieces are in the right place?

Adjusting your spine and pelvis, hips, knees and feet will be a common starting point to introduce correct movement back to these joints, which may have become fixated due to your postural change.

We may also recommend a digital foot scan which will indicate your need for custom made spinal pelvic stabilizer orthotics. As your feet are the foundation of the whole body, correcting imbalances in your feet will help to provide a solid foundation for thus reducing abnormal stresses on your knees, hips, pelvis and spine.

The great thing about our foot levelers are that they a designed to be flexible and comfortable and to restrict only excessive movement. They also support all three arches of your foot and are designed with your entire body in mind, rather than purely just foot function.

The combination of flexible, yet supportive and durable construction materials ensure that the stabilisers will guide the feet when walking and provide support during long periods of standing.