One leg shorter than the other?

[Roy E. Munson]

Does anyone suffer from this, or does anyone have any info or advice? How do you diagnose it, and how did you remedy it for your pedalling biomechanics?

Thanks!

[soulspinner]

I have one leg that is about one half inch shorter than the other due to a sports injury and 2 subsequent surgeries on my hip. I shim(on my cleat) that side with a 1/4 inch shim and make up the rest having developed ankling to compensate . Works very well in my case. I have considered building the entire sole of my shoe up. Has anyone tried this?

[csb]

size up?

[Dr. Doofus]

1/4 difference

nothing

I just deal

don't try this at home

[David Kirk]

My left leg is about 5/8" longer than the right and it's a bit further complicated by the fact that my left foot is a full size and a half larger than the right.

Over the years I've tried various amounts of lift under the cleat with poor results. I've always developed knee pain.

I have my saddle set the proper hieght for the short leg and I let the heel drop a bit more during the stroke on the long leg. After 25 years it's become such a muscle memory deal that I wouldn't know how to deal with equal legs lengths.

What have you tried?

Dave

[Roy E. Munson]

It's a strange scenario for me, I'm actually thinking it's not so much one leg shorter than the other anatomically, but some sort of muscle imbalance that causes one leg to be shorter than the other. On some days it's not so bad, on others it's brutal, and it causes back and knee pain. I tried the shims and dumped them, tried off the shelf, semi-custom orthotics with marginal results. I'm thinking a good solid stretching and flexibility routine may be the best thing I can do.

[Climb01742]

hey, roy, go see my chiro...peter gale, in needham. i don't care whether you believe in chiro's, or whether you've tried them in the past...this guy is the real deal. does a form of chiro named Active Release Technique. amazing. i have/had a leg length thing too. partly from breaking my leg skiing years ago and partly from muscle/flexibility imbalance. dr gale has changed my body. honestly. his # is 781.449.5722. trust me, man. he's the real deal.

[dirtdigger88]

When i was a kid I broke my hip which ended up slowing the growth of one of my legs. Through puberity it was really bad, not it is not such a problem. At one point while I was growing quickly I had almost one inch difference. I too have tried various shims etc, but I really just set my saddle for the shorter leg and deal with it.

jason

[Bruce H.]

I read a while ago that most people have a slight discrepancy of leg length as well as foot size.

[Redturbo]

Roy,
Check out julstro.com, an Ironman tri buddy of mine sent me there. They specialize in self help for sport injuries, Its helped me a few times.
good luck
turbo

[Peter]

With the help of a friend it's easy to diagnose.

Lie down on your back with your legs straight out on the floor. Have a friend pick up each leg and shake it gently left-right to "relax" it and place it back down on the floor. Then have them look at how the knees line up compared to each other. If one thigh is longer than the other, it will become apparent at the knee.

Next, sit on a table with your lower legs hanging straight down over the edge. Have same friend gently shake each leg again to relax them. Have friend note how the ankle bones line up relative to each other. Any discrepancy in lower leg length will be apparent here.

My doctor told me 50% of the population has a leg length discrepancy. Same goes for differences in foot size; half the population has feet of two different sizes-Greg LeMond wore two different size shoes. The common leg length discrepancy is 1/2". With up to 1/2" discrepancy, you only need to shim up to 1/2 the difference. Above that, seek more professional advice.

[MallyG]

My right leg is at least an inch and a half shorter than my left, due to an accident some years ago. My bike shop built up my Look cleats with Le Wedges, which helps to a point. However, it's actually my femur that is shorter, which makes saddle adjustment tricky. Basically, I have to reach a compromise both in saddle height and fore and aft position. I also have limited flexibility on the right leg, which makes my pedalling style somewhat unusual. I think it's important not to overstretch your shot leg, otherwise you will lose power and also run the risk of injury. Unfortunately, you may occasionally feel that whilst climbing especially, the knee on your longer leg is coming up just a little too high. Nevertheless, it is possible to compensate and experiment.

[Too Tall]

A fine resolution for folks with leg length discrepencies esp. in the lower leg is to use a block and fit a custom offset chainring. Tom Slocum makes them and I've seen it in action. My best pal has at least a 1"1/2 lower leg diff. and this makes his stroke butter smooth.

http://www.hscycle.com/

BTW - An x-ray is the only way to determine leg length diff. However, hip flexor imbalance is often apparent with simple observation.

[Climb01742]

a key step in addressing this problem is determining whether the leg length difference is structural or functional, or some combination. functional difference can be addressed by stretching, message, chiro, strengthening and so on. structural differences require footbeds, shims and various other mechanical solutions. solving a functional issue by mechanical means addresses the symptoms without really curing/solving the problem. my issues have responded well to a combo approach. may work for you, too, roy and maybe others. good luck.

[BarryG]

The only way to correctly diagnose leg length discrepancy is with x-rays. I was convinced I had it until x-rays done by Matt Smith (chiro in Saratoga) proved I did NOT.

Barry