Shorter Leg Syndrome

The wear pattern of my shoes tells the story. I'm a heel striker. I land on the outside of my feet. One shoe is more worn down than the other likely due to the difference in leg length.

 Ever since I was a kid, I would periodically experience tightness on my lower back and sometimes nagging knee pains. When I’m really tired, I would have a pronounced limp.

This is caused by a shorter left leg. I think my left leg is about 1cm shorter than the right one.

I’ve never worried about it. It is usually fixed by a pull and a pop. Once a year or sometimes twice, my mom would take me to Nasugbu to Kuya Cleto (her cousin nth times removed). He was better known as “Lagutok” (Bonesetter).

He would ask me to lie face down. Then his assistant will pull my left leg while realigns something in my lower back. The session lasts for about a minute. Waiting in line for your turn is actually longer. After the pull&pop, the tightness would be gone. And yes, my legs would be even. 

I’m really glad that the bonesetting tradition has been passed down to the younger generations of Kuya Cleto’s family. 

Now that I’m running, I do not wait for the pain or discomfort. When I do my leg drains, I also check if my legs are still even. If they are uneven, I go visit Ferdie in Evangelista or Kuya Danny in Nasugbu.

*** 

I finally got around reading up on related lit regarding my shorter left leg. Turns out I have what is called The Short-Leg Syndrome. Now I need to figure out if I have the Anatomical or Functional Short Leg. I’m afraid it’s the latter.

Functional Short Leg Syndrome is acquired through repeated bad habits such as poor posture, slouching in chairs (Guilty!), crossing legs while sitting(Guilty!), standing with all your weight on one leg (Guilty!), always running on the same side of a beveled roads or insufficient stretching. Another article said that 3 out of 5 people have a functional short leg syndrome. Click here to read the article. 

Oh and while researching about this syndrome, I found out I now have something in common with Becks.

PS. Getting my leg pulled&popped works for me . My mom, 2 brothers and myself swear by it. My dad and other 2 brothers thinks that its just a sham and makes fun of us.