OA and legs with different lengths

I have had diagnosed OA for 8 years and both my hips, knees and spine cause me a lot of pain. The pain and mobility has gotten slowly worse and that was expected. What was new for me was that last month my new doctor told me that my left leg is shorter than the other by 3/4 of an inch.

Now I was prescribed a lift insert for the shoe. It doesn't fix the entire height problem but I didn't want to be wearing the shoes that make it very clear that your legs have different sizes. So far, I haven't noticed anything different in the pain. He said it was an important ommission that could be responsible for much of my pain but I am not seeing any success.

Has anyone else used these inserts and had relief or is the doctor just trying to make me think he is treating me?

I haven't had the need for those inserts but I do know that joint alignment problems can cause excess pressure in some areas of your joints so the inserts could very well help. They may take some time though so I would give the insert some time before considering it useless.

Do you think that there is a lift insert, that is larger or higher than the one you have, that would fix the problem? I would see if the doctor can prescribe a different size.

Thanks for responding. What you say is a good explanation. I went reading about joint alignment too and I hope the insert does help. I will have to give them a try for a while longer.

This is not something I am familiar with either, but just wanted to add that if you are uncomfortable wearing those shoes out of the home find out from your doctor if wearing them at home and wearing different ones outside would be a problem. We spend so much time at home that you could get the benefits that way.

That's a good idea for wearing them at home! I didn't think of wearing anything in the house at all. I just have to see how expensive they are or I will have to wait a while before getting them.

Make sure you talk to your doctor to see if changing heights is safe. It is like wearing high heels or regular shoes and I know how we can lose our balance on the tall shoes.

This may sound weird, but some people have added height to their body by stretching. I don't know if at our age, it could make a difference, but you could ask. See what your doctor has to say, about stretching the one leg?

Most people have one leg slightly shorter than the other, I know I do. This can obviously cause problems with your joints, but I haven't experienced any problems personally. I'm not sure about the success of inserts, has it being studied scientifically?

I haven't experienced having to use such an insert but I have experienced other problems because of my OA. I have had flair ups of Bursitis in my right hip since my knees became really bad. My doctor believes this has been caused by the fact that I am walking differently and babying the left leg, where my knee is really bad. So, I guess that the way we walk in order to deal with our OA can play a part in what other problems occur in our joints. For you this could be requiring this insole, it wouldn't hurt to try it, and see if it does help.