Fine tuning.

All this biking, physical therapy stretching, calisthenics, stair climbing, and swimming has done wonders for my overall strength.  Still, my walking gate is far from smooth, and as I am learning through visits with the surgeons and orthotics' specialists, this has far more to do with bone & joint mechanics than muscle strength or even range of motion.

Based upon the physical clues mentioned in previous posts, it is clear that my right leg is shorter than my left leg, and my left foot is no longer flat but leans outward.  These two physical-structural-mechanical imbalances have caused a significant hitch in my stride.  It's as though I am walking along a railroad track, stepping up with my left foot on a rail that slants outward, and then stepping back down with my right to the bed of the track.  After observing my walk at a recent visit, the orthopedic surgeons gave me a referral to an orthotics' specialist who I visited last week.

We talked through the physical symptoms, they watched me walk, and they concluded a lift for my right foot and a wedge for outer portion of my left foot should help straighten things out.   Also, we talked about the ankle pain that has limited my walks to no more than six miles and/or two hours.  They suggested creating a custom-built clam-shell fiberglass ankle brace to hold my left ankle mostly motionless while walking, which would mimic fusing the ankle.  The braces straps will hold it firmly to my calf, so it will also transfer some of the impact load of walking from the heel/ankle to the upper calf.  This type of brace will fit inside a mountaineering boot, and fingers crossed, it will allow me to go further & longer.

At the follow-up appointment to create the caste for the brace and take accurate measurements for the lifts, the orthotics team determined my right foot needs a 5/8” heel lift and my left foot needs a 3/8” wedge on the outside edge to level it.  On a whim we measured the length of my feet, and it turns out my left foot has lost one-and-a-half shoe sizes!  Both feet used to be size 11.  Now my right foot is still an 11, but my left foot is a size 9.5. Crrrraaazzzy!! 

This will definitely improve my bragging rights when "comparing scars" with friends.