The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › Injuries, Restrictions, Ailments, Pose Modifications › Physical Restrictions › leg length discrepancy
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Hi there
I’ve a leg length discrepancy which I’m pretty sure is real rather than to do with posture. I also have a dodgy lower back which plays up a lot in half moon. I find standing on a folded towel with my shorter leg helps with this, but I’ve just moved to a new class and my new Bikram teacher says absolutely no props. (Previous Bikram teachesr haven’t meninded). Â I’m a bit worried I’ll make back worse without it – then again, she seems very sure.
So, assuming it is real leg length discrepancy (I’m getting it proerly mesaured soon), what do people think I should do?
A bit of background
Since starting bikram yoga about ten months ago, I’ve noticed quite a significant difference in the length of my legs. I’d always thought my left was a bit longer, but bikram really made me notice it. I’m also pretty sure Bikram’s made it more pronounced. My theory is there’s always been an actual difference in leg lengths but this was hidden to some extent by weak hip muscles on the left (longer) side from tending to stand with my weight on my shorter leg. All the standing on one leg has strengthened the hip muscles and now I notice the full difference. Â (When I started the muscles in my left hip really hurt standing on that leg… now they don’t so definitely stronger..)
RE backpain, on eof the reasons I starte yoga was lower backpain brought on by trying to start running after a long lay off. Initially the Bikram helped a lot, but it always didn’t feel quite right in half moon (I’ve tried various things with alignment etc). Then I damaged my hamstrings pulling a bit to hard/wrong in one of the ham string stretches and my backs been worse sicne then. I find having a towel under my shorter leg’s foot helps for half moon – I just seem to get the alignment better and tend not to feel it in my back as much as without the towel.
Any thoughts appreciated
Thanks in advance,
D
Hi D
It’s difficult to say until you have your legs measured.
I am going to ask you to do something a little odd. Can you please go to a space where there is room to move, and stand in a comfortable relaxed position with both feet lined up so that one is not in front of the other. Then, go to walk across the room. Please tell me which leg you take the first step with. Then do that a few times. You are going to routinely lead with one particular leg. It won’t change. I want to know which one it is. If you were in the room, I wouldn’t make that part conscious for you and I would just observe. But we’re not together so I can only ask you to stand there, relaxed and then go to take a few steps.
Meet you back here
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle
Thanks for getting back – really appreciate it.
I’m pretty sure I lead with my left leg, the longer one. (Not 100% sure because I’m thinking about it.)
Would you mind answering on the assumption that it is a real leg length discrepancy? I’m 99% sure it is – a physio noticed it first and was pretty sure it’s a real difference, and I’ve measured it myself (using instructions from a youtube physio video). I’ve just not had an ‘official’ measurement yet.
Hope that’s not rude/ungrateful! And happy to wait until I’ve confirmed it one way or the other if you’re not comfortable giving advice until I’m sure.
Cheers, D 🙂
Hi D
So, the shorter leg is the one you lean on. When you stand with your weight on that leg, you affect the mechanisms that support that leg and hip and you use the skeletal system (via a locking of sorts) rather than musculature to hold your body in space. You’ll notice that if you try to switch weighting and lean on the other leg, you can do it but it’s not as comfortable or comforting, so pretty quickly you’re leaning back on that dominant leg. By standing the way you do, you’re actually affecting a difference in the way your ligaments (and muscles) hold your hips/pelvis. Whether or not one leg is shorter than the other is immaterial here really. What you actually have to focus on is standing with your weight evenly distributed between your legs. It is possible that your legs are exactly the same length but you notice a relative leg length difference because of the habitual patterns of standing and weighting that have been set up unconsciously.
In case you’re not convinced, I have to tell you that when I first started Bikram yoga I noticed a leg length difference, used a folded towel under my heel. It felt good. For a shortish while, I hid it under my mat so that I wasn’t chastised by the teachers. The osteopath the studio recommended, corroborated the leg length difference story. He gave me orthotics. All because I had a shorter leg. I spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on treatment. Anyway, as time went on I dispensed with the prop and the orthotics and simply focused on precision pose techniques and mindfully weighting my feet and legs. That did the trick. When I went to ‘training’ where you do almost 100 classes in 2 months, all my ‘differences’ and issues disappeared, including leg length difference and my apparent scoliosis. Be aware that when you do little yoga or go through times where you are not practising much or at all (and that happens), or you’re only going say, once per week the change is not going to be as obvious. But definitely mindful awareness is key.
I’m only going on the words you write. There could be something else going on, so let’s see. I would be very interested to know what happens with you and whether your leg is longer than the other and by how much. Unless they are truly and markedly different lengths, your body should be able to cope and adapt without presenting lopsidedness. Keep me posted.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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