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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Leg Length Discrepancy Treatment

Dear Dr. Blake,
I recently completed physical therapy for a leg-length discrepancy that was affecting an entire side of my body (the side with the shorter leg). The chiropractor prescribed me a 7mm heel lift, but I wanted to know how I could get a 7mm full foot lift that would be good for running. I recently found your post when someone asked a similar question to mine on this link:
Dr Blake's comment: You can use two 4 mm full length flat spenco insoles. That will get you very close. Unless the chiropractor measured exactly by xray, that may be enough. Remember all soft insole give on impact, so 8 mm lifts will only give you 6.5-7.5 mm based on the stresses you are placing on it. 

https://www.spenco.com/product.aspx?prodid=52&catid=





Is the only way for me to get a 7mm full foot lift is by purchasing several 1/8th inch sheets from jmsplastics.com? I'm just afraid to do this because I'm trying to get the lift to be exactly 7mm and if I get two 1/8th inch sheets it's going to be 6.35mm. And would you glue the layers together?
Dr Blake's comment: Typically you go with one layer for minimum of 2 weeks, than the second layer for another 2 weeks. If that is working, you can glue together. 

Also, my second concern is not having enough room at the front of the shoe. I recently got the Clearly Adjustable full foot lift and my toes didn't have any room and I can't wear it. You mention you can cut out the toe, but if I cut out the toe then how is it taking care of the discrepancy? 
Dr Blake's comment: You can ask a shoe repair store to thin out the thickness from the sulcus of the toes to the end of the toes on the lift. You can also use sandpaper. The green side should be facing up, and the black side is easy to thin. If you need more room, you can cut out the toe area completely and then bivel the last 1 inch in length. 
On top of the Clearly Adjustable lift not fitting, it took me a long time to adjust each layer to make sure it fit inside my shoe and the result came out a bit choppy from my scissor job, so I'm afraid to try this again with other lifts.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you so much for helping patients with leg-length discrepancies and for your wonderful blog! I was very happy to find it.
Clare (name changed due to witness protection).
(if you post this on your website can you use another name for me? Thanks!)

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Thank you very much for leaving a comment. Due to my time restraints, some comments may not be answered.I will answer questions that I feel will help the community as a whole.. I can only answer medical questions in a general form. No specific answers can be given. Please consult a podiatrist, therapist, orthopedist, or sports medicine physician in your area for specific questions.