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  • Walking and shoe lifts

    I finally got a shoe lift, over six months after surgery. I should have gotten it much sooner, probably at three weeks post op! I can not believe what a difference it made. The difference is extreme.

    Post op, I had a lot of trouble walking. I was healing well and couldn't figure out why I had so much trouble walking, since I didn't have much trouble walking in the years before surgery. I posted about it a couple times on the board. After surgery I had so much major hip pain at the site of the bolts fixed in my left hip so I didn't walk much. Walking just made the pain worse so I figured that I just needed to heal more and was healing slowly. At six months, I had my sons measure my height accurately, using a level and straight edge. There is almost 3/4" difference in my height between standing on my left foot and standing on my right foot!

    I truly think ALL surgeons should check the height standing on one foot at a time at the 4 week post-op appointment. If we had done that, we would have caught the major difference in my height. When I got measured at the clinic, I stood flat on both feet, which was extremely uncomfortable since that meant my upper body tipped like the leaning tower of Pisa, which made an inaccurate measure. I also stood on both feet for my xray. I tried to stand straight for the measurement at the clinic, which meant my neck was bent since I'm fused from T1 to sacrum. On both feet I didn't feel like I was standing up straight so I tried to stretch my neck up a little but the technician said "I can see you're trying to stretch higher" and she disregarded that, as though it would make an inaccurate reading. But I felt like my neck was bent, which it was. I was confused and felt that the six month appointment number wasn't right. The clinic measurement was so much shorter than the measurement I had taken at home that I double checked over the next two weeks at home. Sure enough, we discovered the true difference between right and left foot.

    I'm in my 7th month post op. I've had the lift for just 1 week and have already increased my stamina and walking exponentially. I have zero pain in my pelvis and almost none in my back. I got a 3/8" lift in my shoe since there were no half inch lifts. With the lift, the difference in my height is still 3/8" so I'll need to add a little more. Even so, the lift has made a HUGE difference. I imagine my pelvic bolts would have healed more quickly too if I had that shoe lift back at three weeks post op.

    Just thought I'd post this in case someone else is having trouble walking.
    1973 Age 15 diagnosed with scoliosis but told too old for surgery.
    2001 age 43 told too old for surgery, did physical therapy & traction.
    2001 to 2008 Intermittent use of home traction machine and TENS unit.
    2009 traction no longer effective - physical therapy.
    2011 More physical therapy. 2012 Collapsing scoliosis - MRI before surgery
    At age 53, surgery on October 2nd, 2012 with Dr Hey
    Fusion with titanium rods and bolts from T1 to pelvis.
    Post op x-ray

  • #2
    Happy for you that it's helping so much!! I'm going to measure tomorrow and see if that could be my issue. Pain in just the one hip when I walk.
    age 48
    80* thoracolumbar; 40* thoracic
    Reduced to ~16* thoracolumbar; ~0* thoracic
    Surgery 3/14/12 with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis, T4 to S1 with pelvic fixation
    Broken rods 12/1/19; scheduled for revision fusion L1-L3-4 with Dr. Lenke 2/4/2020
    Not "confused" anymore, but don't know how to change my username.

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    • #3
      shoe lifts

      I have a difference in my legs to.. Where did you get your shoe lift?

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      • #4
        Originally posted by retired Mom View Post
        I have a difference in my legs to.. Where did you get your shoe lift?
        You can buy shoe lifts on amazon, but you should know the height that you need. I also lean slightly to the right and brought it up on my first follow-up appointment. My doctor recommended 3/8 shoe lift and they gave me one at the hospital orthotics department. Later I bought one more lift on amazon. Here it its:

        http://www.amazon.com/Warwick-Enterp...rds=shoe+lifts

        There are some shoe lifts with adjustable heights, e.g. you can pull off a layer or two to make it fit. If your appointment with the doctor is far away, you can probably experiment with those adjustable lifts and see what feels right.
        I am stronger than scoliosis, and won't let it rule my life!
        45 years old - diagnosed at age 7
        A/P surgery on March 5/7, 2013 - UCSF

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        • #5
          I got the lifts from Amazon - Leg Length Discrepancy Lift, 3 Pack I got the Women's 3/8" lifts.
          So far, the 3/8" lift has been working very well. My body adjusted to it quite fast. I think now I will look for a 1/2" lift though because there is still a little difference and I think I'll do even better with a higher lift.

          Let us know how the lift works for you.
          1973 Age 15 diagnosed with scoliosis but told too old for surgery.
          2001 age 43 told too old for surgery, did physical therapy & traction.
          2001 to 2008 Intermittent use of home traction machine and TENS unit.
          2009 traction no longer effective - physical therapy.
          2011 More physical therapy. 2012 Collapsing scoliosis - MRI before surgery
          At age 53, surgery on October 2nd, 2012 with Dr Hey
          Fusion with titanium rods and bolts from T1 to pelvis.
          Post op x-ray

          Comment

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