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  • help... very frustrated

    Hi everyone,

    So I went to the physical therapist today (let me apologize ahead of time if this turns into more of a vent).

    Her diagnosis: My left femur is approximately 1cm or so longer than my right. Which normally would cause scoliosis with a curve to the right. But, somehow my pelvis overcompensated for my left leg so much so that my right hip is higher than my left thus causing my curve to go to the left.

    I'm frustrated because how could it go so long- having uneven legs or uneven hips and not be noticed by all the specialists I've seen.

    So my question to everyone- has anyone heard of or experienced this? The PT told me it is very rare that usually a pelvis won't over-compensate for a leg difference.

    My next question- is there any chance the PT mis-diagnosed it? How could she be the only one to feel my hips as uneven when no doctor in my past has? She seemed to be educated about scoliosis and different functions/causes and wants to treat it through exercise/stretch/massage (all three routes) but maybe I'm being to leinant in my evaluation.

    When I lay down and bend both my legs making sure my toes are even my left knee is definitely higher than the right- even I can see that. But when I feel my hips or put my hands on them I can't tell they are uneven. She corrected the hip imbalance for a short second by having me stand on a lift to even the hips and I felt extremely uneven- which I guess could be expected if "even" to be has really been uneven the whole time.

    I'm just frustrated/confused but want to be sure I'm not worrying about something that could actually be a mis-diagnosis.

    Any help/advice/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank you,
    Tracy

  • #2
    when i was like 13 before i had been diagnosed with scoliosis i went to a PT for me knees... and they told me that one of my legs was longer... but i think that they thought that because my hips are uneven because of my scoli. My legs really are exactly the same length, so maybe you should check with an ortho before you get too worked up about it. PT's, in my experience, don't know a whole lot about scoliosis.
    Abbie
    aBbiE
    22 yr old F,KU college student
    Kyphoscoliosis...
    Scoliosis (25T, 23L) diagnosed @ 14 yrs old; curves June 08 were 45T, 32L with 18 degree rotation
    Kyphosis of 65 degrees...
    I am missing a lumbar vertebrae

    Surgery 6/30/2008 with Dr. Lawrence Lenke
    Fused T2-L2


    before/after pics
    all smiles!

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    • #3
      How did you find out for sure that your legs were the same length?

      The more I thought about it the more I'm finding it hard to believe that this one PT (out of all the orthopedists, other physicians, and other PTs) figured out all my problems and the potential cause for my scoliosis that has somehow been missed by all the doctors I've previously seen?- it doesn't seem very likely.

      I emailed my doctor with the PT's diagnosis and asked him whether he thought it could be correct after viewing my x-rays and MRIs or if he thinks I should get a 2nd opinion.

      Thanks for the input!
      ~Tracy

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      • #4
        Tracy,

        Go see another PT. The only way to truly know if one leg is structurally longer than the other is via an x-ray. And 1 cm is unlikely to cause major problems for people, in fact it is not uncommon amongst people without scoliosis to have a small discrepency like that. The pelvis is usually very capable of adapting to a difference of that amount by rotating the two innominates (each side of the pelvis) anterior/posterior to 'functionally' alter the leg lengths and make up the difference.

        What you're probably seeing on the table as you lay on your back and notice your femurs being "different" lengths is most likely a functional leg length discrepancy whereby the pelvis is trosioned/rotated causing one leg to be longer. It would especially make sense that the left leg is longer in that position because your right hip is higher when standing, which causes the left side of the pelvis to drop down making the left leg/femur appear longer.

        Find a different PT and move forward. Don't waste your time with this one... besides, if a Physical Therapist can't offer something better/more effective than massage then it's not worth your time going to them. Find a PT who is actually putting their education to use... Doing massage doesn't require a degree in Physical Therapy...

        Structural

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        • #5
          How do I go about finding a new PT though? Should I just call all the PT offices in my area and see which has experience with scoliosis patients? I am fairly new to the area I live in so the one I went to was who my doctor recommended and I don't really know of any others.

          Thanks again for the advice,
          Tracy

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