One Sided Back Pain - part 2

[jimp1234]

I went to my Orthopedist last week and we discussed leg length issues as a potential cause for my one sided back pain, and though he’s a pretty good Doc (very thorough and very conservative about putting you under the knife) it was clearly not an area he had a lot of expertise in. He put me on the table and did a regular measurement (both legs the same). He was going to check with the hospitals radiology department because he’d only done the scanogram method and only on children with severe scoliosis. He referred me to a PT who I saw this morning. He did a pretty thorough exam, and his initial conclusion was my left hip was “frozen” when compared to my right hip. Huh?? Well ok. He postulated that the left hip tightness was causing a functional leg length discrepancy. As far as “why” he said could be old injuries, poor posture, etc. He gave me two stretches to do at home, and I see him next week. So, if you’ve had a leg length measurement done, how exactly did they measure it? Do I need to think about getting a “Jock Doc” Orthopedist? Finally, anyone with hip flexibility issues, what kind of stretches or exercises did you do that helped it?

Thanx

-Jim

[AgilisMerlin]

have you just started training out of doors ?

last week i just began riding on the road, with climbing actual hills, and i have deep pelvis and sciatica problems on my right side,.......just like every other year.........

it eventually fades.......

[girlie]

there is a way that the left and right sides of the hip can get out-of-alignment. My left side is, also, tight and causes my legs to have different range of motion.
I have to stretch a lot! and never miss stretching or I pay the price....also core strengthening is key for me.....as crunches stretch my lower back and that seems to help my hip as well.
Talk to your PT person cause there is no way I could describe the stretches over the internet. I do one exercise that helps align my hips. Lay on your back, bend your left knee, pushing up against light resistance with left leg bent. Right leg straight and pushing inward, level with the floor....then knees bent both right and left with a ball in between your legs - at the knees - and squeeze...sometimes I hear a click. Ask the pt...simply wanted to give you an idea of one exercise that helps me.

[Kane]

The 'gold standard' for leg length discrepancy is a standing lumbo-pelvic
X-Ray, shot in an atypical fashion from anterior to posterior, (with a lead shield over the ***els), and the central ray is positioned at the height of the butt cheeks with a tube tilt that covers the X-Ray cassette. Any non-weight bearing imaging studies are a waste of time and added confusion to the problem. (spine journal around 1988, but don't quote me, google leg length discrepancy and start reading a million articles.

Does your pain hurt worse with sitting, (not transitional movements of sit to standing)? If it does this is strongly suggestive of a annular tear in your disc.

Try Yoga side plank if the pain is in your QL area between your ribs and your pelvis. Compare right side to left and look for imbalances. Your core strength is likely an issue. Plank is the strengthening exercise for the QL muscle. The stretch is to simply stand with the involved hip and foot against the wall and lean away from the wall with your torso for 30 seconds.

Try "bridging" (google for a picture). Lift each foot in the bridge position. If you lift the right foot and it hurts on the left side, than your left S/I, (sacro-illiac), joint is problematic.

"Structural short legs" are caused by things like short femurs, short tibia, hemi-pelvis - unilateral shortening of one side of the pelvis, pronation of one foot more than another.

"Functional short legs" are caused by muscle imbalances. The common players are tight rectus femoris, hamstring, and or quadratus lumborum.

Think about getting a joc doc chiropractor with an A.R.T. background, because he/she may be able to actually fix you pretty quickly.

GO TO: http://www.activerelease.com/ and type in your zip code and you'll get a list of chiropractors, who do advance tissue work in your area.

I'm in S.F. as a practicing chiropractor and I was a teacher at a No Cal chiropractic college so if you email me, I might be able to find someone in your area. If you want to see an orthopedist in S.F., try Kevin Louie M.D. He is a smart guy!

Cheers,

Kane Bixby D.C.

kanebixby@gmail.com


I went to my Orthopedist last week and we discussed leg length issues as a potential cause for my one sided back pain, and though he’s a pretty good Doc (very thorough and very conservative about putting you under the knife) it was clearly not an area he had a lot of expertise in. He put me on the table and did a regular measurement (both legs the same). He was going to check with the hospitals radiology department because he’d only done the scanogram method and only on children with severe scoliosis. He referred me to a PT who I saw this morning. He did a pretty thorough exam, and his initial conclusion was my left hip was “frozen” when compared to my right hip. Huh?? Well ok. He postulated that the left hip tightness was causing a functional leg length discrepancy. As far as “why” he said could be old injuries, poor posture, etc. He gave me two stretches to do at home, and I see him next week. So, if you’ve had a leg length measurement done, how exactly did they measure it? Do I need to think about getting a “Jock Doc” Orthopedist? Finally, anyone with hip flexibility issues, what kind of stretches or exercises did you do that helped it?

Thanx

-Jim

[jasond]

I went to my Orthopedist last week and we discussed leg length issues as a potential cause for my one sided back pain, and though he’s a pretty good Doc (very thorough and very conservative about putting you under the knife) it was clearly not an area he had a lot of expertise in. He put me on the table and did a regular measurement (both legs the same). He was going to check with the hospitals radiology department because he’d only done the scanogram method and only on children with severe scoliosis. He referred me to a PT who I saw this morning. He did a pretty thorough exam, and his initial conclusion was my left hip was “frozen” when compared to my right hip. Huh?? Well ok. He postulated that the left hip tightness was causing a functional leg length discrepancy. As far as “why” he said could be old injuries, poor posture, etc. He gave me two stretches to do at home, and I see him next week. So, if you’ve had a leg length measurement done, how exactly did they measure it? Do I need to think about getting a “Jock Doc” Orthopedist? Finally, anyone with hip flexibility issues, what kind of stretches or exercises did you do that helped it?

Thanx

-Jim

Check this out, not sure if it pertains to you or anyone for that matter but it's an interesting theory. http://www.billbostoncycles.com/lower_limb_inequality.htm

I was doing some searching on the internet last night because I'm also getting some serious back pain just on me left side. I kind of chalked it up to either the fact I just started riding outside again or my bike is so new that it must not be fitted right. However, last year I bought a brand new bike and started riding outside and nothing was wrong so I'm guessing it must be bike fit. The stem I have is 20mm longer than the one I used last year, not sure why I let the fitter keep that on the bike. :crap: Now the thing about is while I didn't get back pain last year when I first started riding I did get back pain when I played wiffle ball one day. Once I saw the chiropractor I was fine and played wiffle ball for the rest of the summer. He actually joked with me about it yesterday because I went in to see him hoping he could fix my problem. Even though I went to see him I don't want to take any chances and will be seeing the LBS today regarding the fit of my bicycle. I don't want to take the chance again so I think the stem will be getting changed out, unless the LBS comes up with something else.

[Too Tall]

The 'gold standard' for leg length discrepancy is a standing lumbo-pelvic
X-Ray, shot in an atypical fashion from anterior to posterior, (with a lead shield over the ***els), and the central ray is positioned at the height of the butt cheeks with a tube tilt that covers the X-Ray cassette. Any non-weight bearing imaging studies are a waste of time and added confusion to the problem. (spine journal around 1988, but don't quote me, google leg length discrepancy and start reading a million articles.

Does your pain hurt worse with sitting, (not transitional movements of sit to standing)? If it does this is strongly suggestive of a annular tear in your disc.

Try Yoga side plank if the pain is in your QL area between your ribs and your pelvis. Compare right side to left and look for imbalances. Your core strength is likely an issue. Plank is the strengthening exercise for the QL muscle. The stretch is to simply stand with the involved hip and foot against the wall and lean away from the wall with your torso for 30 seconds.

Try "bridging" (google for a picture). Lift each foot in the bridge position. If you lift the right foot and it hurts on the left side, than your left S/I, (sacro-illiac), joint is problematic.

"Structural short legs" are caused by things like short femurs, short tibia, hemi-pelvis - unilateral shortening of one side of the pelvis, pronation of one foot more than another.

"Functional short legs" are caused by muscle imbalances. The common players are tight rectus femoris, hamstring, and or quadratus lumborum.

Think about getting a joc doc chiropractor with an A.R.T. background, because he/she may be able to actually fix you pretty quickly.

GO TO: http://www.activerelease.com/ and type in your zip code and you'll get a list of chiropractors, who do advance tissue work in your area.

I'm in S.F. as a practicing chiropractor and I was a teacher at a No Cal chiropractic college so if you email me, I might be able to find someone in your area. If you want to see an orthopedist in S.F., try Kevin Louie M.D. He is a smart guy!

Cheers,

Kane Bixby D.C.

kanebixby@gmail.com

Just a thank you for that very very well stated process :)

[andy mac]

topical!

i have been having left side issues for a few years - from my ear to my ankle.

just had large format standing x-rays taken last week for length discrepancies.
awaiting the results. have been told that's the best way to tell.

lately i have been working with a physio specializing in the pelvis (not many around) and she's been fantastic. she can get everything in the right place and feeling fine but it's not holding. be interested to see if there's a length issue.

good luck!

:beer: