Short Legs - How This Medical Condition Will Affect Your Child

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 could occur as he or she grows. Sometimes, it isn't automatically apparent that a child is dealing with this issue.

When the entire body is dis-proportioned, as is often the case in dwarfism, doctors may make you aware of the condition from birth. However, many times, these conditions only manifest themselves as the child develops.

Parents may notice exaggeration in running, limping, and problems learning how to walk. Medical symptoms include lower back pain, shin splints, inflammation of the sciatic nerve, and pain in the legs and feet. This all occurs because the weight isn't distributed evenly and the joints are stressed in trying to correct the problem.

Treatment options for this leg syndrome depend on the specific type of condition. There are two main forms of short legs. First, your child could have one leg shorter than the other. This can occur during growth in the womb, or after birth as the child develops. Doctors call this "true" short leg syndrome.

Sometimes, though, a child isn't born with or doesn't develop one leg. With "functional" short leg syndrome the legs are the same length when measured from joint to heel. However, the pelvis, hip, or sacroiliac joint is tilted, causing one leg to be longer when the patient is evaluated from a sitting or laying position.

The main form of treatment for short legs is surgery. This, however, depends on how bad your medical symptoms are. For children, surgery can be done fairly early in life, and this will actually help the body grow normally. As the patient ages, the healing process will be more intense. Surgery involves breaking the bones and shortening them or realigning them so that both legs function at the same length.

Not everyone needs surgery, however. For some children, this problem can be fixed fairly easily with just a special shoe and braces. If the injury is very slight, your child may not even notice the difference for many years, although because of the joint stress, it is important to care for the problem as soon as possible. Medical symptoms only worsen over time. Medications and therapy can help with movement problems and pain associated with surgery.

It is important to note that some children deal with shorter legs than normal because of other medical complications. Dwarfism can cause both short arms and legs, and this could indicate neurological, respiratory, and other problems with the body as well. Certain diseases and disorders can also cause leg problems. So, it is important that your doctors thoroughly examine and diagnose the problem. Other medical conditions could be quite serious.

Problems with short legs, whether they are found independently of other medical conditions or not, don't have to ruin your child's life. With the proper care, it is possible for your son or daughter to walk, run, and even play sports.

While there may initially be a few challenges to living with a shorter leg, a great medical team and proper care can fix this condition relatively easily.

Find out about Shriners Hospitals for Children where your child can get some of the best care in the world at no cost to you. Call toll-free at 1-800-237-5055 (in the U.S.) or 1-800-361-7256 (in Canada) or contact shriners at http://www.shriners-help-kids.com.