How is leg length discrepancy diagnosed?
How is leg length discrepancy diagnosed? The first step in diagnosing a leg length discrepancy is a complete medical history and a physical examination by an orthopedic surgeon. During the exam, your child’s doctor will take measurements of your child’s legs and use a block to balance the pelvis.
How do you deal with leg length discrepancy?
Treatment for a discrepancy depends upon the severity. In many cases, a minor difference in leg length can be evened out by wearing a lift in one shoe. A child with a more significant difference, however, may benefit from surgery to make his or her legs the same length.
How much leg length discrepancy is significant?
Although a discrepancy that may not cause symptoms for one person may lead to severe problems in another, researchers have reported that an LLD surpassing 2 cm (roughly 3/4 inch) leads to significant gait asymmetry.
What are the 2 causes of leg length discrepancies?
There are many different reasons to have a leg length discrepancy, but there are two main causes: 1) your child was born with a condition that caused one leg to grow slower than the other or 2) something happened during your child’s lifetime that affected the length of the bone (i.e. a fracture) or affected the growth …
What do you call a girl with one leg shorter than the other?
Short leg syndrome (SLS) is better known in the medical community as Leg Length Discrepancy. In the simplest terms, one who suffers from SLS will have one leg that is shorter than the other.
Can one leg being shorter than the other cause back pain?
Those who suffer from functional leg length discrepancy are those who tend to suffer from lower back pain. The Academy of Clinical Massage shares that tight back muscles on the “short side” are often the cause of the leg length difference.
How can I correct my leg length?
If a child has stopped growing, orthopedists can sometimes correct a leg length discrepancy by shortening the longer leg. This is done by removing a piece of bone from the longer leg. Limb lengthening surgery also can be done.
Can uneven legs be fixed?
In more severe cases, surgery to even out the leg length might be considered. If the length difference is 2 to 5 centimeters, a surgical procedure to stop or slow bone growth in the longer leg is usually done.
Can a shorter leg cause hip pain?
A leg length discrepancy may be functional or structural in nature. Minor discrepancies often cause no symptoms or problems. However, moderate-to-severe asymmetry may cause issues with walking and posture, and it can contribute to hip and back pain.
Which is the best way to estimate leg length discrepancy?
The most effective way to clinically estimate limb length discrepancy is by placing blocks under the shorter limb to raise the pelvis into a level position. (Morrissy, 2006)
When was the straight line graph technique invented?
Moseley described a straight-line graph method in 1978 that is based on two principles: the growth of the leg can be charted graphically by straight lines and a nomogram can be used to determine growth percentile from the skeletal age and leg length (Moseley, 1978).
What causes leg length discrepancy ( LLD ) in children?
Limb length discrepancy (LLD) can be congenital or acquired. Some causes of congenital LLD include fibular hemimelia, tibial hemimelia, congenital femoral deficiency, hemihypertrophy or other limb hypoplasias.
How is the true length of a limb measured?
True limb length is clinically measured with a tape measure from the anterior superior iliac spine to the medial malleolus with the two limbs being placed in similar positions.
