Is leg length discrepancy associated with the side of radiating pain in patients with a lumbar herniated disc?

Study Design. The association between leg length discrepancy and the side o f the radiating pain in lumbar disc herniation was investigated in a case s eries. Objectives. To investigate whether pain tends to radiate into the longer or shorter leg in patients with a lumbar herniated disc. Summary of Background Data. No previous studies have investigated the assoc iation between leg length discrepancy and side of radiating pain in patient s with a herniated disc. Results of studies of low back pain with on and le g length discrepancy are inconsistent concerning this association. Methods. Of 132 consecutive patients admitted to a district hospital for su rgical management of a lumbar herniated disc, leg length discrepancy was as sessed using the indirect method as described by Calliet. Results. Seventy-three patients (55%) were men, and 59 (45%) were women, th e mean age was 40 years, and 99% of all herniated discs appeared at L4-L5 ( n = 60) or L5-S1 (n = 71). In 64 (62%) of the 104 patients with a leg lengt h discrepancy of 1 mm or more, the pain radiated in the shorter leg (P = 0. 02). in subgroups of patients with larger leg length discrepancies, similar results were found but because of smaller sample sizes, these findings did not reach statistical significance. In 32 of the 57 men (56.1%), the pain radiated to the shorter leg (P = 0.43); this was observed in 33 of the 47 w omen (70.2%; P = 0.01). Conclusion. The results of this study showed a statistically significant as sociation between leg length discrepancy the side of radiating pain in a ca se series of patients with lumbar herniated discs. The relation was more pr onounced and statistically significant in women only.