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One leg longer than the other!


spingirl

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ACK! I'm having terrible trouble with 5th position with my right foot in front. My right leg is longer than my left, enough so that in order to force my right leg to straighten in 5th, I have to "pop" my hip. I assume that's the IT band snapping over the joint, which makes me worry about irritating the whole area.

 

I have had a suggestion to put a small heel lift in my other shoe, which I've tried. It does help, but I can't imagine always having to dance with a lift in my shoe! What happens when I go on pointe?? :)

 

I do stretch the IT band as much as I can, but I don't know if that will really make a difference. Surely I'm not the only one with this problem. Any suggestions on how to deal with it?

 

Lisa

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Nothing wrong with using a little orthotic to even things out. And it will fit just as easily into a pointe shoe as into a ballet slipper.

 

And don't worry about a "pop" without pain. That's a benign characteristic 999 times out of a thousand.

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I'm working with that too. Left leg is 3/8" (9mm) shorter - found out last summer. I'm wearing a 1/4" (6mm) lift on all my left shoes now, but still looking for the right thing for ballet. Right now, it's a 1/8" (3mm) insole, floppy silicone material and cut down. But the toes don't connect to the floor properly, and it's still not really high enough at the heel.

 

The cobbler offered to make fatter soles on my split-sole slippers, but especially around the ball and toes I can't see that working - like standing on a small hocky puck. The podiatrist recommended a full length lift rather than heels only.

 

It's certainly thrown my balance and center off while I get used to it! (Not that they were that good before...)

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I would suggest seeing a chiropractor about that. I've had a similar problem to what you're expericencing and it was because my hip bones were out of allignment, causing one leg to be shorter than the other which from what I've learned from my chiropractor, can be caused from repeated slouching while sitting down throughout the day.

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My right leg is 3 cm shorter than the left one.....I have never had problems with my legs more with my back. As a result, I have scoliosis. I asked a special docotor to wear such a heel in my shoes but his opinion was that my back could get even worse from it.

I'd check it with a doctor before you wear that heel. He can also make sure, that you don't have any other hip problem.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry it's taken me so long to say thank you for the replies. At least I might be on the right track with the orthotic. And I'm checking into whether my insurance will pay for a visit to the sports medicine office in our area, which is associated with a big hospital, and has a specific department for dancers.

 

I do get my back adjusted by a chiropractor, so I can ask him for advice as well. Problem is, I need him to adjust me every day--like before I get out of bed!

 

And the slouching thing is probably true in my case. I have a job doing data entry, and I forget to pull up while sitting at the desk.

 

Thank you everyone! I appreciate your suggestions! We need a "group hug" smilie!!

 

Lisa

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