Sometimes low back pain is not so easy to figure out. Sure everybody knows when they move wrong and feel a pop what has happened. But what about chronic low back pain that seems to come and go at will?
On nearly every visit, I look at the length of the patient's legs. Not that your leg grows over night but a difference in the leg length shows several things that help determine the root cause of low back pain.
A discrepancy that comes and goes, can be indicative of muscle spasms or weakness that accompany vertebral misalignments. That's why I keep going back to look at your feet after I adjust you.
A discrepancy that remains consistent can mean gluteal (buttocks) muscle weakness or a short leg or hip/knee/ankle problems.
The true short leg. Up to 10% of people will have an anatomic difference in leg length of up to one centimeter. This short leg causes the pelvis to incline to one side providing an uneven support for the base of your spine. It's a little like walking with one shoe on and one shoe off. If that's the case, many times I recommend orthotics so we can level the pelvis allowing the spine to have a better base to move on.
But most times a short leg can also be functional. A common example of this would be a collapsed arch or a flat foot. Do you have a history of having flat feet? A recommendation to a podiatrist may be the final cluee in solving the puzzle of your low back issues. I find many of my low back pain patients also have flat feet or ankle and knee problems.
It's important to consider the foundation of a spinal problem, not just the location of the pain. As a chiropractor, I pay attention to where the pain is located, but also consider that other joints nearby may be affecting your recovery as well.
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