I started having back pain around the age of fourteen, which as it so happens is also around the time I had a big growth spurt. Looking back now, this is probably when my left leg decided to outgrow my right leg.
Also at the age of fourteen is when I started playing volleyball year round. I had three hour long practices everyday. I spent every weekend in southern California at tournaments. Everything on my body hurt, all the time. The back pain didn’t necessarily stand out. The same deal in college. Year round volleyball, body always hurting. Drinking a lot of beer seemed to help.
When I graduated college, I stopped doing any sort of strenuous physical activity. I got fat. Then after a few years I got tired of being fat and decided to start working out again. And also to stop eating chocolate chip pancakes for dinner every night.
The back pain immediately returned. It stood out much more sharply now that nothing else on my body hurt. I waited about a year and a half before I did anything about it, finally going to a physical therapist in the fall of 2006.
You have a leg length difference, he told me. Yeah, so? It’s probably causing your back pain, you know. Oh. Huh. Who knew?
My pelvis had dropped on my right side, tilting downward so that both my feet could be on the ground. Titled pelvis = back pain.
Over the next few months, my physical therapist worked to realign my pelvis using manual manipulation. I started to feel better. He also gave me a small lift to wear in my right shoe. No biggie, I thought. I’ll wear the small lift, and everything will be peachy from here on out.
But the back pain only ever got about 25% better. One day I was curious as to exactly how much of a difference I had. I pulled a few books of varying heights out of my bookcase, standing on them in front of a mirror until my hip bones were level with each other. Book after book, my right side was still lower. Finally, I found one that leveled me. And it was an inch thick.
Here’s me standing on the book:
And here’s me standing flat on the floor:
So why not just wear an inch thick lift, you ask? Well, you can’t, really, because your foot won’t stay in the shoe. Anything over a half of an inch needs to be built into the sole of a shoe.
So why not just wear one shoe bulked up one inch to correct it? That’s the question I get most from the naysayers. Why would you subject yourself to the long, painful, and possibly wrought with complications process of leg lengthening, just to correct one inch of difference between your legs? Stop being so vain and just wear the bulked up shoe!
If you’re nodding your head right now, thinking, yeah, why don’t you? Try this: put on one shoe, a thick soled one, like a sneaker. Leave the other shoe off. Now walk around for a bit. Now imagine walking like that your entire life. Don’t want to? Yeah, me neither.
So surgery it is! If you still don’t agree with my decision, take heart in knowing that I couldn’t care less what you think. Yay!
Days until surgery: 22
6 comments:
Best duck decision you've ever made. Quack!
This is a desparate cry for attention. We both know you are having your breasts reduced.
What do the docs say? Will the surgery really solve the back pain or just lessen it?
Damn, you are brave!! Though seems like a very rational decision, and why not do it when you're young, right? My mother-in-law had polio as a child and it resulted in one leg being a couple inches shorter than the other--a condition that, from the outside, she handles well, but I'm sure has made her life difficult. She manages to get around, but she's quite slow, and conspicuous, and walking on uneven surfaces--forget it. When she buys shoes (she has a couple pairs she wears all the time), she'll have one adapted so that it's sole is thicker than the other--and man, doing that is expensive! Over the course of a lifetime, it's probably cheaper to have the surgery!
Best of luck! You have done a thorough google search on the doc, right? ; )
I don't know if I want surgery but I've had 2 inch diffeemce all my life I'm 27. However up until recently I've managed fine sure small pain in back ground but nothing significant but now recently noticed it is causing some problems so I'm doing reasearch before I even call my orthopedic I have 1 d to having disability that makes that necary. Once I've determined a possible good option I'll call ortho and go from their. Drs know me and know I know myself and so often leave descions up to me. I don't want to b cut open unless last resort. Totally agree lifts are bulky and a pain even directly in a shoe we tried once when I was like 8 I said fudge it that was end of it till now.
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