Here’s What You Need To Know About Short Leg Syndrome

Our body is a combination of muscles, bones, and blood. Each of these elements is interdependent to balance the body. Our body is a collection of bones, muscles, and blood. All three elements are interdependent in each other for proper movement and functioning of our body. Our legs support the movement of the body to a great extent. They help us stand, walk, run, and even dance. Usually, both of our legs have similar pairs in muscles, ligaments, lengths of bones, etc. However, some people have legs of unequal lengths. Their one leg might be a little shorter than the other. In other terms, we call it “short leg syndrome (SLS),” Leg length syndrome, or leg length discrepancy. It is caused by a mismatch in the lengths of the legs. According to a study by KJ Murray in 2015, almost 59% of people suffer from leg length syndrome.

What causes the short leg syndrome

The syndrome can occur due to various reasons.

• Fracture or injury: Any injuries in the past that cause slow growth of the bones in one leg, whereas the other one might continue normally. This can result in short leg syndrome.
• Neuromuscular Issues: Another common reason why this problem may occur is due to problems in the neuromuscular junction. This can affect the alignment of the body.
• Bone Cancer/Tumor: People who have bone cancer or tumor may go under certain specific treatments for their cancer that may require amputation of the bone to control the spread of cancer to other areas. This amputation leads to leg length discrepancies.
• Other bone-related diseases: Other bone-related diseases can affect the growth of the bone. These diseases can also hamper the growth of bone.

Problems that persist due to Short Leg Syndrome

It can be difficult to carry out regular activities of daily life with a discrepancy in the length of such an important part of the body. The first thing that gets affected due to the leg length syndrome is the posture of the person. A person with the syndrome is unable to stand up straight. The poster of such people is likely to be bent towards the shorter leg. Due to the persistent posture issues, it can also affect the back, ankles, and knees of the patient leading to chronic pain in the areas. Due to this chronic state of pain, the patient might require to consult a physician regularly and take suitable medications to treat the back, ankle, or knee pain.

Treatment for the SLS?

Yes! There is a solution to short leg syndrome as well. However, it also depends on the severity of the syndrome. Minor differences can be adjusted by wearing a heel or a lift in the shorter leg. Another very common aid is surgery. Surgery can be done on the other leg, which does not have the syndrome to make both the legs of the same length.