A leg length discrepancy can be corrected through use of a shoe lift or through surgery to shorten the longer leg or lengthen the shorter leg.
The doctor you see for a leg length discrepancy is an orthopedic doctor or orthopedic surgeon.
During the exam the orthopedic doctor will measure your limbs and legs to calculate how different they are in length.
A leg length discrepancy is when one leg is longer than the other leg.
The difference in leg lengths is more likely noticed and can affect activities of daily living.
Leg length discrepancies are very common and many people do have at least a small difference in the lengths of the legs.
A discrepancy in leg length is sometimes often a disabling condition where the legs are either different lengths, or appear to be different lengths, because of misalignment.
Unequal leg lengths with a small degree of difference is very common; small inequalities in leg length may affect 40%–70% of the human population.
People with significant leg length discrepancies may walk with a limp, have the appearance of a curved spine (non-structural scoliosis), and experience back pain or fatigue.
In addition, clothes may not fit right.
Having a leg length discrepancy of less than 10 mm is often well tolerated and rarely requires surgical treatment.
Having a 10-mm or greater difference in leg length creates an asymmetry in the body that may cause lower back pain, hip pain and other problems.
If substantial enough, the leg length discrepancy that is left untreated can contribute to other serious orthopedic problems, such as degenerative arthritis, scoliosis, or lower back pain.
However, with proper treatment, children with leg length discrepancy generally do quite well, without lingering functional or cosmetic deficiencies.
Treating a slight difference in leg length can mean lengthening the shorter leg or shortening the longer leg.
A shoe lift can even out small differences, and might be all that some kids need.
But if the difference in leg length is more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) or gets worse as the child grows, surgery can help.