One leg shorter than the other

[Michael54]

I have a buddy that does prosthetics and did the 1 1/2" lift on a midsole for me pre surgery, however it was on a tennis shoe and the sole started peeling off after about 8 months. Im just wondering if anyone has a midsole on their boot and how it holds up long term. When he did it for my tennis shoe it had to be a brand new shoe with a specific sole type.

 

[mthayr]

Maybe call Lathrop and Sons Boots and see if this is something that they could do for you. Or any other full custom boot/shoe shop.

^^^ THIS ^^^

 

[Gman12]

Do you have a lift on the midsole of your boots? And if so how well does it hold up?

Since I have had it from the time I was born, my body has sort of adjusted to it and I don't wear a lift. I should though. As I am getting older, I can feel my back and hips out of alignment and it hurts when I walk a lot. I have just bought the athletic inserts from a drug store and only used the left one for my short leg. It only is about 3/8" lift but seems to work pretty well.

 

[Woitey]

As you age the difference between the two legs will increase. I went from inserts, to lifts. I had to go to a place that would build up the sole of the boots, after they measured my legs. I had to update that at least once a year as I aged. I was at a half inch lift on my right leg when I had my spine fused, and it brought everything back to normal, and I no longer had heels on my right shoe that wore uneven. Back pain after the fusion pretty much went away after a year too. It's not a easy fix and I wouldn't care to go through it again.

 

[Little Joe]

Analytical approach is best.

We don’t know if the leg that was operated on was longer, shorter, or the same length as your other leg prior to surgery.

Work with your doctor.

You need to see what the discrepancy in length is. For this you need the services of a radiologist. Have studies done to measure the exact length of each leg. Once you have this information you have a starting point.

See a pedorthist. Start building the shoe up on the short side in quarter of an inch increments. Wear the shoe a few weeks to see how you feel. If needed raise the shoe an additional quarter of an inch. Continue until you find the appropriate height. The correct height is what feels best to you.

You had an accident. A short leg may only be part of the problem.

 

[weekender7]

I have had 1 1/4" difference since an age 19 bad motorcycle accident. The doctor told me to have shoes soled thick to match my good side or I would have hip and knee issues in later life. I only did it for one pair of shoes and said fuui. Now at 67, I have had the knee replaced in the short side and the hip is causing major pain.

 

[Loggerdude]

As said above, find a good shoe repair shop or a cobbler Old school is usually best but not always Have someone help you measure the discrepancy of your leg length by your hips. Start with a magazine or two until they are even that will give you the height at heal.
, pm me if you have question.

 

[Wildone]

Fitzwho beat me to it but was going to say the same about Lathrop and Sons. Dad is a podiatrist and the boys own a custom boot company. The heal lift you mention may be from improper boot fit . These guy also make custom orthotics.

 

[Amos Keeto]

Head on MVA in 1991.
Left hip, femur head sheared in half and dislocated. I opted to just have hip repaired as best possible.
By 2005, I walked bent over like Grandpappy Amos on the "Real McCoy's".
Went to McBride Orthopedic Hospital in OKC. Suggested a hip implant.
I could walk upright and pain free for the first time in years!
Not only was one leg (left) shorter, my pelvis was tilted, causing lower back pain.

Now, fast forward to 2022.
Noted my right hip was becoming painful and would occasionally, painfully, just give out and not support me.
That nagging, tilted pelvis back pain began to return.
Back to McBride in Jan 2024.
I'm sitting here today with a patch on my right hip. Another total replacement.
Seems the femur head was no longer round, but ovate. The top 3/4" or so of the femur head was worn off by bone-on-bone contact.
When they replaced the joint, they had to stretch my leg muscles to get everything back together and make sure both legs were the same length.
YIKES!
My butt hurts!!!!!

I'm aware that joint replacement isn't a cure all, but if you have access to a top notch orthopedic hospital, they can sure cure a lot of woes!

 

[ODB]

So in july of 2021 i was in a bad wreck and had to have a full hip replacement that included my hip socket being rebuilt. The outcome now is that my right leg is 3/8 of an inch shorter than my left and walking long distances is causing me severe knee pain in my left leg. I bought inserts for inside my tennis shoes and they help sognificantly. However they are too big for my hunting boots. The heel lift is pulling my foot too far up out of the boot and causing blisters and discomfort. Has anyone had any luck with the custom lifts on their boots between the sole and boot bottom? Im curious as to how well they hold up.

Depending on the boot/sole you might call someone like David Page (cobbler) in Seattle. Those guys are flat-out wizards and I would think they could add 3/8 to one boot.

 

[Caseknife]

Email these guys. https://whitesboots.com/custom-boots/

 

[Amos Keeto]

So in july of 2021 i was in a bad wreck and had to have a full hip replacement that included my hip socket being rebuilt. The outcome now is that my right leg is 3/8 of an inch shorter than my left and walking long distances is causing me severe knee pain in my left leg. I bought inserts for inside my tennis shoes and they help sognificantly. However they are too big for my hunting boots. The heel lift is pulling my foot too far up out of the boot and causing blisters and discomfort. Has anyone had any luck with the custom lifts on their boots between the sole and boot bottom? Im curious as to how well they hold up.

Honestly, I'm no orthopedic surgeon, but I've had my left hip rebuilt in 1991.
In 2005, I had the left hip totally replaced.
Feb 2, last Friday, I had my right hip totally replaced.
In each case, the surgeon was very explicit that during their surgical manipulations, it was imperative that they keep both legs the same length.
That your surgeon would completely rebuild your hip and not make certain that the affected leg was not the same length as the unaffected leg, just doesn't sound Kosher! Or very poor planning on his/her part.

 

[Yoder]

I would look for a local that re-soles boots. My dad had really good luck with that. I think the guy only charged $150 and he made them custom to fit my dad's feet. He doesn't even need orthotics anymore.

 

[tim tarras]

I have one leg shorter than the other by about a 1/2". I have used an orthotic that is built up to make up the difference. This has made a world of difference solving a lot of my back issues. I can switch it between shoes which is really nice. If you go this route you may need to go up in shoe size. You can go to your DR. to get referred or I have been using Sheep Feet and it has been really nice.

 

[grossklw]

Honestly, I'm no orthopedic surgeon, but I've had my left hip rebuilt in 1991.
In 2005, I had the left hip totally replaced.
Feb 2, last Friday, I had my right hip totally replaced.
In each case, the surgeon was very explicit that during their surgical manipulations, it was imperative that they keep both legs the same length.
That your surgeon would completely rebuild your hip and not make certain that the affected leg was not the same length as the unaffected leg, just doesn't sound Kosher! Or very poor planning on his/her part.

Or more than likely based on his body mechanics and the nature of the break that was not an option. If you believe that is the cause; the best bet is to go to a cobbler or someone that can install a thicker midsole. A heel lift can only fix so much.

Our bodies are not that fragile in terms of imbalances, it may or may not cause issues down the line. There are plenty of amputees that run around on Lofstrand crutches for the rest of their life that don't have any hip/back issues and they have a 3 foot leg length discrepancy.

Close to half the population is walking around just fine with a leg length discrepancy. Our ortho's generally address it if it's more than 5/8 of an inch. Hip/back pain is way more complicated than one leg is a half inch longer than the other. Correlation doesn't equal causation.

 

[EastHumboldt]

For $500 I’ll add 3/8 of an inch to your femur. How do I do it so cheap? Jack Daniel’s… I know I have some bone and staples around here somewhere?

On a serious note I had terrible pain in both feet and I tried all kinds of off the shelf inserts for about a year. Got to the point where I would hobble for a couple minutes every time I got up from sitting down. Went to see a podiatrist. (Hammer toe and osteo arthritis combined with Plantar fasciitis). She had custom inserts made and the pain was gone in a week. If you’re gonna use inserts see somebody that understands the mechanics.

 

[bpurtz]

My dad was in a serious car accident in his 20s (83 now). He had a portion of his femur removed and bolted back together. He's always had a custom 1" heal/sole lift added to his boots & shoes. I think the boot/shoe lift was an acceptable "fix" - not sure what else he could have done. He's had both knees replaced in the last 10 years and I'm pretty sure he believes the uneven leg length escalated the knee failure...

 

[Amos Keeto]

Or more than likely based on his body mechanics and the nature of the break that was not an option. If you believe that is the cause; the best bet is to go to a cobbler or someone that can install a thicker midsole. A heel lift can only fix so much.

Our bodies are not that fragile in terms of imbalances, it may or may not cause issues down the line. There are plenty of amputees that run around on Lofstrand crutches for the rest of their life that don't have any hip/back issues and they have a 3 foot leg length discrepancy.

Close to half the population is walking around just fine with a leg length discrepancy. Our ortho's generally address it if it's more than 5/8 of an inch. Hip/back pain is way more complicated than one leg is a half inch longer than the other. Correlation doesn't equal causation.

I'm certain that we are all symmetrical, but the closer you get, the better off you are.
Between '91 and '05, when I finally wore that rebuilt hip out, not only did my hip hurt, but my lower back was unbelievable!
AFTER the replacement, not only did the hip pain disappear, but so did the lower back pain that suddenly became apparent.
The funny part of the lower back pain was, it had come about so gradually as the femur head wore down, that I really didn't notice it. With the pelvis "balance" corrected and the lower spine "realigned", life became much more enjoyable.

As it was last deer season, I had to backpack ALL my hunting gear and sling my rifle and use hiking staffs to get back and forth to my stand. Maybe now, I can leave the hiking staffs at camp.

 

[CHWine]

I started having back issues in my early 20's. Chiropractor said I had 3/8" difference in my legs. I have an insole in the heel of every type of shoes except flip flops and Crocks.......which I hardly wear. Do a search for the insole store. Most shoes and boots have a full length insole that you can lift up and insert the heel insole underneath.

My wife had hip replacement about 13 years ago and after the procedure she had uneven leg length. The doc said sorry and use an insole like mine. She went in 2 years ago and had to have the other hip done. Same doc. He promised to even both of them up......he said the new procedure would make that a much easier proposition. Happy to say it worked.

 

[grossklw]

I'm certain that we are all symmetrical, but the closer you get, the better off you are.
Between '91 and '05, when I finally wore that rebuilt hip out, not only did my hip hurt, but my lower back was unbelievable!
AFTER the replacement, not only did the hip pain disappear, but so did the lower back pain that suddenly became apparent.
The funny part of the lower back pain was, it had come about so gradually as the femur head wore down, that I really didn't notice it. With the pelvis "balance" corrected and the lower spine "realigned", life became much more enjoyable.

As it was last deer season, I had to backpack ALL my hunting gear and sling my rifle and use hiking staffs to get back and forth to my stand. Maybe now, I can leave the hiking staffs at camp.

Agree to disagree. 50% of the population is walking around with a leg length discrepancy that have absolutely no pain. People don’t realize how many “abnormal” findings there are in the population. People with a leg length discrepancy have no higher rate of back pain than people who do, thats not anecdotal; that’s been pretty well studied.

Your hip wearing down and subsequent back pain correction from getting it fixed could’ve been from more globalized inflammation from a failing hip and subsequent increased tone protecting than it did from the misaligned pelvis. Or maybe you were walking different favoring that hip because it hurt which caused the back pain, or sleeping poorly because the hip hurt, or were worried about the hip getting worse. I’m just stating that it could’ve been the imbalance; or it could’ve been from one of the hundreds of other things that cause chronic low back pain. You can’t just look at these things in a vacuum and assume it was for sure the misalignment; just like I can’t say it for sure wasn’t the alignment. Obviously it was the hip in some way shape or form, but we don’t really know why. The end result is the same for you which was a success and that’s great! Total hips and total knees are some of the highest percentage no brainer success surgeries I see.

What if someone whose hip was shot and had 1/2 inch short leg get a replacement but they had no back pain going into surgery even though their leg was shorter? Should the surgeon correct the leg length difference or leave it be?

As I said earlier; back pain is not that simple; stress, sleep, nutrition, beliefs about back pain, work environment (and many others) all play a role. Very very rarely is it just one thing, which is another reason it’s one of the more difficult things to treat as well. I spend more time educating and exercising my patients than putting my hands on them. Can’t go wrong getting strong.