Leg Length Discrepancy

Hey Docs,

My fiance is a 5’10 former D1 volleyball player. She has chronic hip pain, and an assessment by a doctor revealed that she has a one inch leg length discrepancy. The difference is visible to the naked eye, so this was not a huge revelation. The doctor referred her to physical therapy. She has detrained completely from her athletic days (7 years ago) so I assume PT might help a little, because it would be a net increase in her physical activity.

I was suprised the doctor did not recommend shimming a shoe to equalize the leg lengths. However, I don’t know if shimming is in fact sound medical advice, or something I picked up from…other sources.

Any ideas?

Hey jkoltes - thanks for the questions. Such a leg length difference is within our expectations of normative and not something I would recommend turning into a problem needing solving based on the info you’ve provided here; especially if she’s had this for years and not an acquired LLD from a trauma for example. I don’t typically recommend shimming or shoe inserts in these contexts.

Thank you, I appreciate it!

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