Basically, in a chiropractic practice, there are 2 types of short leg. A true ( anatomical ) short leg and a chiropractic ( biomechanical ) short leg. Both are interesting and can affect the way you move and feel. Some of you have the anatomical, most of you have the biomechanical, and a lucky few of you have both.
How many times have you heard me, or another chiropractor, say “ You’re a bit short on the right today” or “ Gee, you’re short on the right, it’s usually on the left with you”?
I’m a bit of a talker, so I know most of you have heard me say it. I’ve explained it to a few of you, but I thought I’d expand on the concept today.
Basically, in a chiropractic practice, there are 2 types of short leg. A true ( anatomical ) short leg and a chiropractic ( biomechanical ) short leg. Both are interesting and can affect the way you move and feel. Some of you have the anatomical, most of you have the biomechanical, and a lucky few of you have both.
Let’s talk about the biomechanical short leg.
First up, your leg isn’t actually short! It just appears that way.
As chiropractors, we call this an indicator. It’s the beginning of my assessment once you’re lying face down on the table. It’s giving me a gross overview of the state of your alignment and muscular imbalance. If things are rotated, twisted, pulled, lifted, tight or floppy it often causes one of the legs to draw upwards when compared with the other side.
By the way, it isn’t a right or left thing. I could say you’re long on the left OR short on the right. It doesn’t mean that is the side of your misalignment. It’s simply a naming convention.
How many times have you heard me, or another chiropractor, say “ You’re a bit short on the right today” or “ Gee, you’re short on the right, it’s usually on the left with you”?
I’m a bit of a talker, so I know most of you have heard me say it. I’ve explained it to a few of you, but I thought I’d expand on the concept today.
Basically, in a chiropractic practice, there are 2 types of short leg. A true ( anatomical ) short leg and a chiropractic ( biomechanical ) short leg. Both are interesting and can affect the way you move and feel. Some of you have the anatomical, most of you have the biomechanical, and a lucky few of you have both.
Let’s talk about the biomechanical short leg.
First up, your leg isn’t actually short! It just appears that way.
As chiropractors, we call this an indicator. It’s the beginning of my assessment once you’re lying face down on the table. It’s giving me a gross overview of the state of your alignment and muscular imbalance. If things are rotated, twisted, pulled, lifted, tight or floppy it often causes one of the legs to draw upwards when compared with the other side.
By the way, it isn’t a right or left thing. I could say you’re long on the left OR short on the right. It doesn’t mean that is the side of your misalignment. It’s simply a naming convention.
As I said, it’s an indicator. As I start to adjust you and work on those muscles you may notice that I keep going back down to look at your feet. I’m trying to balance out your spine which will, in turn, level out your feet. Sometimes we get there, other times we get close.
Can you spot the difference?
Both of these examples were photographed during the visit with the patient’s permission.
This is a great way to describe the fluid nature of stresses in your body from moment to moment. As your visit progresses, the indicators change and another problem presents itself. Trying to make sense of this dynamic change is the hard part. That’s why chiropractors use unique codes to describe what they’re seeing and what they’re doing. Each treatment method has its own set of codes, and we have to be across these different coding systems to understand what other chiropractors may have been treating. When you’re studying to become a chiropractor, learning these different systems and how they correlate can be the cause of many a sleepless night.
It’s easy to check this out in your own home.
Have someone lie face down across the bed so their feet and ankles are hanging freely over the end of the bed.
Compare the legs. Is one longer than the other? If you are unsure, you can gently push the legs together to see if the ankles line up.
If you see a short leg and want me to check it out OR if you just want me to check you out any way please call the office or make an appointment here.