Abstract
Purpose and Background
Leg length discrepancy (LLD) occurs commonly and has been associated with osteoarthritis of the knee and the hip joints. However, the possible association between LLD and degenerative changes in the lumbar spine has not been investigated. Here we correlate the degree of LLD with degenerative changes in the hip joints and the lumbar spine.
Methods and Results
A modification of Friberg's method was used to measure LLD and a novel method was devised to exclude magnification errors in standing radiographs of the lumbopelvic region. 5mm of LLD was considered significant. 75 sets (36 female and 39 male) of radiographs from adult patients presenting to chiropractic teaching clinics were used. Degenerative changes at hip and L4/5 and L5/S1 disc spaces were graded on a 4-point scale. Hip degeneration in men with significant LLD was [mean, 95% confidence interval] [1.35, 1.05–1.66], as opposed to men with no significant LLD [0.31, 0.1–0.53]. Degenerative changes at the L5/S1 spinal level in the group with significant LLD demonstrated values of [1.04, 0.75–1.33], compared to the group without significant LLD with values of [0.41, 0.22–0.61]. The association between LLD and lumbar degeneration was particularly strong in men and also in women at or above the age of 25.
Conclusion
Here we demonstrate that LLD of 5mm or above, as measured by our method, is associated with significant degenerative changes in the hip joint in men and the L5/S1 motion segment in both men and women, but may be more significant in older women.
This abstract has not been previously published in whole or substantial part nor has it been presented previously at a national meeting.
