Short leg syndrome is actually a medical condition that affects thousands of people every year. When a baby is born with one leg shorter than the other, walking and joint complications can occur as the baby grows. Sometimes it is not automatically obvious that the child is facing this problem.
When the whole body is disproportionate, as is often the case with dwarfism, doctors can inform you of this condition from birth. However, these conditions often appear only as the child develops.
Parents may notice running exaggeration, lameness, and difficulty learning to walk. Medical symptoms include lower back pain, leg cramps, sciatica, and pain in the legs and feet. This is all due to the uneven distribution of weight and stress on the joints in an attempt to correct the problem.
Leg length discrepancy treatment options for this leg syndrome depend on the specific type of condition. There are two main shapes for short legs. First, your child may have one leg shorter than the other. This can happen during growth in the womb or after birth as the baby develops. Doctors call this “true” short leg syndrome.
However, sometimes a child is born with more than one leg or does not develop it. In “functional” short leg syndrome, the legs are the same length when measured from the joint to the heel. However, the pelvis, hip, or sacroiliac joint is tilted, which makes one leg longer when viewed from a sitting or lying position.
The main form of treatment for short legs is surgery. However, it depends on how severe your medical symptoms are. In the case of children, surgery can be done quite early and it really helps the body grow normally. As the patient ages, the healing process will be more intense. The operation consists of breaking bones and shortening or straightening them so that both legs are the same length.
However, not everyone needs surgery. For some children, this problem is quite easily solved with special shoes and suspenders. If the injury is very minor, your child may not even notice the difference for years, although due to the stress on the joints, it is important to resolve the problem as soon as possible. Medical symptoms only get worse over time. Medication and therapy can help with movement problems and pain associated with surgery.
It is important to note that some children have shorter legs than normal due to other medical complications. Dwarfism can cause short arms and legs, and can also indicate neurological, respiratory, and other body problems. Certain medical conditions and disorders can also cause leg problems. Therefore, it is important that doctors carefully examine and diagnose the problem. Other medical conditions can be quite serious.
Short leg problems, discovered regardless of other medical conditions or not, should not ruin your child’s life. With proper care, your son or daughter can walk, run, and even exercise.
