Abstract
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)
Purpose: To establish the immediate effect of sacroiliac joint adjustment on functional leg length Method: Seventy participants were randomly divided in two equal groups. Participants of Group A (n=35) leg length was measured pre and immediately post adjustment of dysfunctional sacroiliac joint. Group B (n=35) received the same assessment protocol with no adjustment being administered. The trial consisted of one treatment session only in which all data was obtained. Objective data consisted of measuring participant’s leg length from the anterior superior iliac spine to the apex of the medial malleolus using the standardized tape measure method. Subjective data was obtained through performing four sacroiliac joint orthopaedic tests or each participant’s and recording the results.
Results: The subjective results showed positive results in at least three out of four of the orthopedic tests for the participants of both groups. The sacral thrust technique and sacroiliac joint compression showed a greater percentage positive result in Group A at 91.4% where as the sacroiliac joint distraction was positive in 94.3% of the participants in Group B. Gaenslen’s showed the least accuracy with a positive result in 82.9% of participants in Group A and 74.3% in Group B.
Objectively, Shapiro-Wilk analysis indicated a statistically significant (p =0.014) change in the length of the left leg after treatment in Group A. A significant change in the length of both the right (p = 0.002) and left (p = 0.034) leg was found in Group B following assessment. Conclusion: The study showed that adjustment of the sacroiliac joint does not consistently result in change in functional leg length inequality. This information suggests that the assessment of functional leg length should not be used as the sole assessment tool in the diagnosis of sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Practitioners should rather incorporate a variety of assessment methods as the inequality may be caused by factors unrelated to the dysfunction.