Leg length discrepancy (LLD) leads to many musculoskeletal disorders and affects daily activities such as walking. In the majority of the population, mild LLD is a common condition. Nevertheless, it is still controversy among researchers and clinicians on the effects of mild LLD during gait, and available studies have largely overlooked this issue. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of mild leg length discrepancy on the gait parameters and trunk acceleration.
A total of 20 adults, the experimental (mild LLD) (n=10) and control (non-LLD) (n=10) groups, participated in the present study. Gait parameters and trunk acceleration were measured using GAITRite walkway systems and tri-axial accelerometers respectively. Compared with the control group, in the short limb, the stance phase was significantly decreased (p<.05) and the swing phase was significantly increased (p<.05). In the long limb, the step time and swing phase showed significant decrease (p<.05). The stance phase and single support phase were significantly increased (p<.05). In the comparison of short and long limbs of mild LLD group, there were significant differences in the stride length, step time, stance phase, single support phase, and swing phase (p<.05). However, there was no significant difference between left and right limb of the control group. Within trunk acceleration comparison results showed that all directions of acceleration of mild LLD group were faster than the control group (p<.05).
The results of the present study demonstrate that mild LLD causes altered and asymmetrical gait patterns and affects the trunk acceleration in all directions, resulting in inefficient gait. Therefore, mild LLD should not be overlooked and requires adequate treatment.