hip/leg issue

Our user asked: "Hi..I really need help. I don't have health insurance so I'm coming to you in hopes of a recovery. Basically, my body feels out-of-whack. My left leg feels longer than my right,I have very noticable muscle imbalances of the buttock,thigh & calve,low back pain on right side, extremely tight hamstring on right side,tightness of low back on right side.Please i really need help...I get fatigued so easily and find my daily activities to be so painful. I'm only 27 & very healthy...I just want my life back. Thank you for taking the time to read this."

Ask a PT Response: "Leg length discrepancy should be determined and measured by a trained professional. However, a functional way that I utilize to see if a patient has a true imbalance after taking measurements is to have them perform a deep squat. For individuals that have an imbalance and leg length discrepancy this task will be very difficult to perform and they will not have very good balance. If my patient does not fair well with this test, I would then utilize pages in a magazine at the thickness which I measured they are having the discrepancy at and have them step on the magazine and perform the deep squat again. Often times their performance improves and they have much better balance and success with performing this task. I would them recommend an insert or an orthotic. A home exercise program is also developed to stretch tight muscles and strengthen weak muscles as well. You can visit our exercise videos page to view some sample stretches and exercises: http://www.cyberpt.com/cptvidlist.asp"