Janet, I am so sorry you suffered a lower back injury. I am amazed that yoga was so good for you that came a point when you didn't need to do it anymore. Do you do any other exercise? (Thank you for your kind words!)

Elizabeth, you are so right. Thank you!

Carole, your words are full of wisdom. I try to remember them as I walk in my clogs or flats now. I think maybe I am avoiding a worse fate. But I miss my heels!

Sandy, welcome to the club. I am sorry it is not the best one... but members are giving lots of very useful tips here.

Ornella, what a story! Thank you so much for taking the time to share it here. It is very instructive. I am so sorry you were in extreme pain. How fascinating that the pain emerged suddenly, as your subconscious couldn't keep on numbing it any longer. It is also fantastic that you were able to develop friendships with the people who helped you. That is such an encouraging thing to read!
And that you felt like crying after the first session, my God, I want a session too. It feels like there is a lot of subdued pain in my body. When I workout, it's like I try to "squeeze it out" through a good workout but the relief lasts only a few hours, unfortunately.
Physiotherapy makes total sense. For example, the orthopedist diagnosed that my pelvis was not only crooked vertically to accommodate the leg length difference, but also horizontally, with the left side twisting frontwards. It does this to accommodate the longer leg as I walk. Was it like this for you? There is no way I can fix this without help. I have done yoga for some years now, and it lead me to supplement it with Physique 57, a kind of hard core pilates-ballet workout, which for a year now have considerably strengthened my core and leg muscles. Funnily, strengthening my legs and thighs have helped a lot ease pressure on my lower back. However, it is not enough.

Runs, great advice from you too! It is so encouraging to read that despite so many problems, your body is able to do all these fantastic things through exercise. I totally relate about the pilates, even through ailments. I try not to fret about the footwear issue, but, frankly, I must be too coquette for my own good... I have to unlearn how chic I used to look and adapt myself to a less glamorous style. Because I do have short, stumpy legs and the flat, hard shoes are major stumpifying factors. Add this to the realization that I am now officially "old", and it's a bit depressing.

I have a question for all of you with similar ailments: how did it affect your dressing style?

I wanted to chime in to say that my husband has one leg longer than the other. His went in to back spasm once after having had pain an problems for some time. He got stuck on the floor for an hour before he could crawl or move. He got treatment of various practitioners and eventually saw a physio who immediately said upon seeing him that he had different leg lengths. My husband had a scan and one of his thigh bones was an inch longer than the other. No amount of yoga or exercising would help as it was not a body misalignment but an actual difference in bone length, specifically his femur. He now wears a lift in one shoe and apart from just a bit of regular stretching he does no specifics for the problem and he is pain free. I just wanted to share this with you as it may be worth finding out if you actually have bone length discrepency and not just mis-alignment.

Hugs!
You are gorgeous no matter what!

Krish, I read this thread earlier and I thought I had responded. I'm glad I came back to it, what a load of great advice you've received and some of it is even helpful to me.

About the shoes and your style, I just wanted to mention that one of my sisters has an inch difference in her legs (ski accident) and has the regular orthotics with a one-inch cork piece glued onto the heel of the one for her short side. She is able to wear LOTS of different kinds of shoes, as long as they have the depth to accommodate it. Maybe after some initial correction, you will be able to work up to a smaller insole. With all of the platforms, flatforms and wedge sneakers out there, it would be really cool if someone would design a corrective shoe with a 'false bottom' for the longer foot to sink down into. You'd never be able to tell from the outside of the shoe! At this point, I think you should go on with the style you have and treat your orthopedic shoes like a walking cast, something that is necessary for the time being. Maybe a new persona will come to you (in a dream perhaps) that involves stompy boots!

I love that you aren't going to take this challenge lying down Krish. I admire you for facing it head on and being proactive about dealing with it. This is such a great attitude! When traveling to see my parents in Sept, I re-aggravated an old hamstring injury (in an event that involved sitting in an airplane several hours and then jumping up and running like a maniac to make my connecting flight--without stretching of course), and after reading the comments from Runswithdolphins, Ornella and others, I think I need to go have some physical therapy work done. As it is, that leg seizes up constantly, even with stretching and doing Callanetics 2x daily, and I'm concerned my body may begin to go out of alignment to compensate, causing me more problems down the road. Also, I need to check out this Physique 57!

Thanks for sharing your story and don't give up! Necessity is the mother of invention, and you will find a way to be stylish no matter what you have to strap onto your feet. Style is all in your head, and you have boatloads of it sister.

Krish, I think you have every right to want to wear stylish shoes. I have struggled for the last almost 3 years with pairing a nice outfit with less than ideal shoes. My pretty heels, fancy boots and strappy sandals languish in the closet while I wear Berkies, Uggs and running shoes. At one point this fall I said I was going to donate them all to others with happy feet but my DH convinced me to keep them until after surgery and rehab and then decide. This last year I've been on a mission to find some shoes that at least allow me to wear a bit of heel or wedge when I want to up the ante. I know I'll never wear 4" heels again but I'm willing to compromise. There are shoes with style out there with you name on them. Good luck with your rehab and think tall.

Runs, totally agree. Keep me posted on your finds, and on your progress after surgery.

I can 100% sympathize with foot issues and not getting to wear "fun" shoes. I had foot surgery two years ago and it took 6 months to get out of the Dr boot and ugly white bulky sneakers. And I still cannot sport tall heels. I never could. I have to be very picky about the styles (shape of the toe box and height of the heel) and it is not easy to find shoes that fit all of these criteria. I have found softer soles that can bend easily work well for my foot. I also try to mix in some stylish sneakers, suede works well to look more formal (especially when done in black or brown) yet it's still a sneaker. Good luck!