And then there is # 245....

Look at the position of his knee with respect to his foot. Both are pointing outward into external rotation. They are in the same plane so a torsion is unlikely, but he is probably trying to gain some stability as his center of gravity moves across his body.

Now look at his pelvis and see how it is tilted (or dropped) down on the left. We would definitely want to check his right gluteus medius and his left quadratus lumborum.

And what about that arm swing? Is he creating more space on the left (ie abducting his left arm) from his body lean to the right? More than likely, this is to make up for his hip muscle problem. we say this because his head tilt is to the left. Remember that your body will always try to make your visual fields parallel with the ground, so as his body goes to the right, his head will go to the left. There must be a great deal of body rotation going on, as his entire jersey has moved to his right!

A test question from Dr. Allen, see how you do with this photo critical thinking.

When you walk on the beach you are on a slope. The leg closer to the water naturally drops down to a lower surface. 

Here is the game …  to keep the pelvis level on the horizon, one would have to:

a. shorten the water side leg

b. lengthen the water side leg

c. pronate the water side leg

d. supinate the water side leg

e. lengthen the beach side leg

f. shorten the beach side leg

g. pronate the beach side leg

h. supinate the beach side leg

i. externally rotate the water side leg

j. internally rotate the water side leg

k. externally rotate the beach side leg

l. internally rotate the beach side leg

m. flex the water side hip

n. extend the water side hip

o. flex the beach side hip

p. extend the beach side hip

******Ok, Stop scrolling right now !!!!!  

List all the letters that apply first.

You should have many letters.  *** And here is the kicker for bonus points, the letters can be unscrambled to spell the name of one of the most popular of the Beatles. Name that Beatle.

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don’t look, figure it out before you scroll down further. It is important you try to work through the question and its foundational principles.

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Answer: B, D, F , G, I ,L , N, O

* now, more importantly, make sure you think of these issues in all your clients with leg length discrepancies, both anatomic and function and when the pelvis is not level. This is the most important take away from today’s test question. If you got the answers correct, you have the knowledge to implement. If you did not get the answer correct, you need to hammer down the HOW and WHY of the answer before you start playing with people’s bodies putting in heel lifts (boooo), sole lifts, orthotics, postings etc. If you do not have the foundation to play by the rules, you should not be playing.

ok, we were messing with ya on the Beatles thing. Sorry.

Dr. Shawn Allen