so many words, so little meaning

so i stopped by the sporting goods store this evening to purchase some thorlos because they are the bestest socks for running and i am a runner. currently, i am a cross trainer, but in the larger scheme, i am a runner. i have not been running much in several months because of this leg pain thing that i have going on and i have been to see a plethora of doctors and therapists until yesterday when i saw a new physical therapist (PTprettyman [yes, he's attractive.]) and he was all like, well there's your trouble! and i go, what? and he is all, your right leg is an inch shorter than your left leg!

okay, so it wasn't that simple. there was a lot of move here and bend here and push and resist and stand and sit and cetera and cetera, but in the end he measured three times (for accuracy) and said, yes - your left leg is one inch longer. now, he is not the first person to notice this. i would have to say that i am the first person to notice this because i know my pants legs always drag on the right side. then, i would have to say that an orthopaedic doctor and a previous therapist both noticed and confirmed the condition of leg length discrepancy but didn't recommend treatment for the LLD per se. it's one of the first things my new PCP keyed on so kudos to her for that, but until PTprettyman, no one actually recommended anything for it.

PTpm recommended a heel riser (platform shoes!) and a bunch of stretches because the pain symptoms are being caused by this imbalance which leads to some muscles being weak and some being tight and some misfiring and some not firing at all and all this dysmotion is going on just in the simple act of moving thru the day so you add marathon training and wham! after the stretching works out some of these major kinks, then i will get some new exercises to focus on strengthening the specific muscles that need it, and then in about a month i can get back into running! yipee ki yay!

PTpm said the only symptom i have that doesn't mesh with pinpointing leg length discrepancy as the cause of all my trouble is that i have been running all my life and marathon training for several years and it only started hurting last year. but, here's the thing - i have had "bursitis" in that leg before, and IT band issues. i am sure now that they were caused by this LLD. and, i had a stress fracture in that ankle. and, back in the day, i had knee and ankle pain and my pediatrician diagnosed osgood-schlatter which is a very common pediatric orthopaedic issue. and in which leg was this o-s found? the left. always the left leg with the crying and the whining and the issues.

anyway, PTpm said, this should have been hurting you for years, you must be really tough. i saw no reason to disagree, so i just left it at that.

hey, now... i am tough.

i AM!

you shut up.