What is the "leg check?"
Chiropractors
adjust subluxations to remove nervous system interference, therefore allowing
your body to function at its optimal level. The exact location of a vertebral
subluxation can be determined using spinal x-ray analysis, motion and static
palpation, muscle testing, and leg length analysis.
X-ray analysis gives us a “picture” of your spine, and allows us to determine the exact location and extent of misalignment. Motion and static palpation allows us to “feel” the area of misalignment for muscle spasms, heat, and tenderness, as well as bony displacement. Muscle testing can give the doctor of chiropractic an indicator as to which level of the spine is subluxated, as neurologically weakened muscles can be traced back to the level of innervation from the spine. Finally, leg length analysis can be used as a reliable indicator of nervous system involvement. When we speak of leg length discrepancy, we are considering changes in the apparent leg length caused by neurological involvement, and we have already ruled out actual physical leg length deficiency. Subluxation of the spinal bones causes a compensatory “functional” change in the length of a person’s legs, and a chiropractor can use this as a guide to the effected spinal levels.
The following excerpt explains the compensatory muscular compensation that must occur when subluxations arise:
“Whenever the pelvic joints lose their neuro-mechanical integrity (i.e. subluxate), the neuro-muscular system will innately compensate. In addition, spinal levels above the sacro-iliac joints (i.e. thoraco-lumbar spine) will dysfunction in compensation, often becoming areas of chronic irritation. These areas are determined as to location and nature by evaluating the muscular compensation they have caused, and when all indications of compensatory muscular compensation are gone, the patient is considered to be “unsubluxated”.
The leg check utilizes this neuro-muscular relationship to determine specific positioning of the legs that cause a neurological response. In other words, moving certain joints into specific positions or contacting and stressing areas of involvement temporarily decreases nervous irritation, which results in a temporary “balancing” of the legs. Leg length inequality, after ruling out anatomical discrepancy, is a reliable indicator of nervous system involvement.
As you can see, the chiropractor has a number of tools for determining “where” and “to what extent” the bones of your spine have become misaligned. There are actually many other ways to detect subluxation that have not been discussed here. It’s important to realize that your body can “tell” the chiropractor exactly where the problem areas are (just another example of the amazing power of the human nervous system).
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