Running with one femur longer than the other?

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vespiquenn
vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
edited August 2016 in Fitness and Exercise
So a little background: I started running back in April as a co-coach for my school running club. I ran relatively pain free up until about June, when I started having hip flexor issues. Got fitted for shoes, found out I over-pronate, and went from there.

In July is when the real problem started. I ran a 5k the 4th of July with no problems, but my runs following that started to give me pain in the left knee and hip flexor. I got referred to a sports medicine doctor and a physical therapist. Physical therapist discovered that my pelvis was misaligned to cause my right leg to be longer (pain has all been in the left), so we aligned it with multiple checks a week. But the pain still didn't make sense because it was centered on my left side.

Because I was still experiencing pain, he looked a little deeper into what could be causing it. We realigned my pelvis this morning and found that my left femur is significantly longer than my right, which now makes the pain more understandable as to why it's there.

I guess my question is whether anyone has had success running with this issue or something similar? Sometimes my recovery to even walk again can take up to a day or two just for a mile worth of running (which my physical therapist wanted me to try and is aware of).

I love running, and I know a shoe lift might be in my future. But I'm just discouraged right now. I'm just curious if anyone has dealt with this.

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  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    Nobody's legs are exactly the same length. Obviously you have enough difference that or some other issue is causing you pain. You are right to continue to work with the PT to get this straightened out.

    Best of luck.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    Packerjohn wrote: »
    Nobody's legs are exactly the same length. Obviously you have enough difference that or some other issue is causing you pain. You are right to continue to work with the PT to get this straightened out.

    Best of luck.

    Haha thanks! I always knew legs were typically off by an extent, which the crooked pelvis came as no surprise. But when he discovered how much longer the left femur is, my physical therapist questioned how in hell I never noticed. I guess it was a big enough difference to affect pant leg lengths. I guess that the humor in a crappy situation.

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