Migraines can be caused by having a short leg.
According to a study by the US Army, approximately one out of ten people have an actual leg length difference. Additionally, about one out of one hundred people have pelvic bones which are smaller on one side than the other side.
According to myofascial (muscle and soft tissue) pain experts and medical doctors, Travell and Simons, a leg length difference of 1/8 inch or more puts you at risk for pain and dysfunction. Why?
Because your body does things automatically to try to correct or adapt or accommodate that difference such as tilt, twist or rotate.
There are two types of “short legs.” Both can cause migraines.
One is an actual anatomical difference which could be caused by severe injury or polio or nature and is measurable on x-rays. It could be either the upper or the lower leg bone.
The other type is a functional leg length difference. That means the bones are all the same length but muscles in the body cause one hip to lift. Your hips can move independently of each other so it is possible to have one hip that is higher or more forward than the other.
People with an anatomical leg length difference often have migraines because walking with a tilt puts a lot of strain on the muscles at the base of the skull. It causes a rotation (slight turning) of the head. That can affect the nerves and blood vessels which play a part in migraines. Those people can have other pain, too, such as hip pain on the short leg side or low back pain pain or TMJ dysfunction.
What’s the fix?
Good news! There is a relatively easy fix so you don’t have to go through life “out of balance” and with migraines.
Anatomical short leg: Lifting your entire foot on the short leg side enough to level your hips will go a long way in helping you feel better, have fewer migraines, and fewer problems with your neck and muscles.
This requires that you only wear certain shoes. They must have a solid, thick hard rubber sole. A shoemaker can split a firm rubber sole and add a layer of neoprene rubber to lift the short leg. This doesn’t work with air or gel type shoes.
Also, if you have a really skilled shoemaker or cobbler, he might be able to remove your whole sole and replace it with a new, thicker sole.
It may seem like a lot of work or you might not want to give up your stylish shoes but the benefits to your body are huge.
Functional short leg: A skilled massage therapist can help relax and release the tight out-of-balance muscles that are pulling your bones out of neutral.
How do you know if you have a leg length difference?
Perhaps one pant leg is always longer than the other. That was the clue for my 91 year old client who had back pain and migraines for over 70 years. His doctors never looked for or told him he had a leg length difference but he told me, “My tailor always told me I did!” His anatomical leg length difference was about 2 inches. That explains all of the back pain he had over his life!
Maybe when you look in the mirror you can see that one shoulder is higher than the other or that your head sits off the side instead of dead in the middle of your body. That’s a clue, too.
Or, as you look in the mirror, does your belt line drop to one side? Or your neck line?
How do you know how much lift you need?
A doctor can take x-rays of your legs and hips and measure for you. Or, you can “guestimate” by placing notebooks or magazines under your short leg and adding or removing pages until you feel level and look level in the mirror. Many neuromuscular massage therapists are trained in measuring leg length differences, also.
When you get rid of an actual leg length difference and stop the tilting and twisting that your body does to try to make corrections, you can have fewer migraines.
What else can I do?
There can be multiple causes for migraines but the more causes you can get rid of, the less pain you will have.
Head Pain Natural Relief is an easy to use, to-the-point book that tells you what you need to do to get rid of headaches and migraines. It’s available in Kindle or soft cover. I recommend the soft cover so you can mark it up and make it your own ‘headache bible.’ If you don’t have a Kindle, Amazon will give you a free reader app.
PLEASE NOTE: Always whenever you do movements for your neck, do them carefully, slowly and thoughtfully. Pay close attention to what’s going on so you don’t aggravate your touchy neck and cause a migraine.
Great info, I’ll refer my clients with migraines to your site. thanks
Audrey Sussman
Audrey, thank you.
One day I will have a self-help program for migraines. In the meantime, I have been looking for an excellent program to help people but if there is even one huge glaring error, I can’t recommend it. Thank you for your recommendations. Much appreciated!
Kathryn
…wish I had migraines so I could try these things…….just kidding, sure like the thoughts here!!!
Joel, I am so glad that you DON’T have migraines. Thanks for letting me know what you thought of the article. Appreciated!
Kathryn
Who would have ever guessed that a difference in leg lengths could lead to migraines. I will check this out and refer a couple of my clients to your blog.
Alice, it is absolutely amazing that this type of thing is so often overlooked in the medical community. After all, your legs are a long way from your head…or are they?
Kathryn
This was absolutely fascinating, Kathryn. I am continually amazed by the deep connectedness of things – and the fundamental importance of balance – be it in our physical bodies or in the way we live our lives. Your knowledge, and generosity in sharing it, are true gifts. Thank you!
Paula, thank you for your kind comments. I find it fascinating, too. Part of the reason I love bodies so is because they are logical; they follow certain natural laws. And all the parts ARE connected–in our bodies, our lives, our universe.
Kathryn
Wow! I’ve never had a migraine (thankfully), but I have a friend who has them often. I’m going to send her the link to this article; I don’t think she has considered having her leg length checked out. It would be nice if this were the cause – since you provide such relatively easy and inexpensive solutions!
Thanks for the great information.
Deb
Deb, thank you on behalf of your friend.
It is relatively easy to help get rid of migraines if you can knock out the cause(s) and this particular cause is frequently overlooked. Glad to be able to help and you’re very welcome!
Kathryn
i have sufferd with migraines since i was ten my left leg is about an inch shorter than my right i get migraines nearly every day could my problem be because of my leg ?
Hi Linda,
You bet your leg length difference can be a huge part of your migraines! It might not be the only cause but if you correct this you will cause a big difference. (Please remember: I’m NOT a doctor.)
Drs. Travell and Simons MD’s said that 1/8″ or more could cause pain and dysfunction. A short leg causes your body to rotate. That makes the muscles at the base of your skull twist and press on the nerves that go in and out of your skull. And, that creates migraines!
Even though migraines are considered a vascular (blood vessel) headache the latest research I have seen indicates that migraines start with the nerves. It is the nerves that cause the changes in the blood vessels that lead to head pain.
As someone who used to have horrible migraines, makes sense to me. 🙂
You have curvature of the spine, too, right? Same cause–leg length difference.
I had an elderly male client (I mentioned him in this article) who had almost 1-1/2″ difference between his legs. He said the only person who had ever told him he had a leg length difference in his life was his tailor because the tailor always had to shorten one leg of his pants.
His doctors never noticed even though he had a lot of back pain and even had back surgeries.
Since you have an idea of the difference you might do what he did. After estimating the difference, he got the solid sole of his shoe on the short side built up by a shoemaker or cobbler. First he did about 1/2 of it, then another 1/2. And then he decided he needed still more by looking at himself in the mirror and seeing if he looked level yet. So he got his shoe built up a bit more.
You might also need someone to help you get the twists and turns and tilts out of your body to get the rotation away from your skull if you do lift your shoe. Muscles can be treated to help you level out. It may not be pleasant work because it’s on the deeper muscles but it sure makes a difference! The type of therapist you would seek is one who works with the muscles to help straighten people out.
Thank you for writing and I hope this will help you get started in the right direction of getting rid of your migraines naturally.
Kathryn
The Pain Relief Coach