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IT Band -
Hip pain -
Low back and SI pain -
Low back and SI pain -
So many people walk into my office and tell me “One leg is longer than the other, which is causing my pain.”
I often have to lovingly challenge people on this one!
The only way to know for sure if one of your LEGS is longer than the other is to measure your BONES. This can be done via x-ray and comparing bone length from left to right. And in some rare cases, people have one leg that its significantly longer than the other.
This video is about those of you who probably just have a fascial restriction situation going on that is causing a pelvic imbalance.
There is ONE common cause of the appearance of one leg being longer than the other. Before I tell you what that is, it’s important to understand that whoever told you one of your legs was longer probably “measured” (visually) while you were lying down. OR they looked at you while you were standing, and based their assessment off of your hip discrepancy. This is a HIGHLY MISLEADING way to measure an imbalance, because the opposite of what is measured while lying down is visually seen while standing.
Anyway - none of that really matters anyway! What matters is figuring out if you’re prone to this issue due to that one common cause I mentioned.
When your ADDUCTOR fascia gets super restricted on one side, it can pull your inner fascial line tight, causing that hip to appear HIGHER while you are standing. However if you were to lie down it would be the other way around. Technically, this leg has SHORTENED fascia, so your foot has to work harder to find the ground. Other areas of your body can compensate to make sure you’re walking like a normal human: your IT Band, peroneals or OTHER leg can compensate.
To start unraveling this mystery, use a basketball to “test” your adductor fascia left to right.
DO NOT RELEASE ANY FASCIA YET!
You want to find the TIGHTER side first, because your #1 goal is going to be to balance yourself out left to right.
If you discover that your left adductor is more fascially restricted than your right, then you’ll want to do that leg only for now (until you’re even). Flip this if the right side is tighter.
Ok I’m really interested to hear your thoughts on this! I hear this so often, and I want to assure you the likelihood of a leg actually being longer is small.
Share your takeaway below and I’ll make sure to come say hi, I love hearing from you!
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