@keenem PT helps you train your body to accommodate the difference. Many people go through their lives with unequal leg lengths, my 1.25 cm (1/2 inch) difference is less than 1.5% of my leg length from hip joint to heel. On the other hand, my brother's has 3 cm difference, more than 1 inch, from a childhood disease. He has managed okay for over 60 years, but does limp when tired.

The first order from the new PT was to arrive with a worn pair of athletic shoes and a new pair of well-cushioned athletic shoes. The therapist showed me the uneven wear on my old shoes, and explained how my bad walking habits had altered the shoes, making it difficult to use them to walk properly. I used the new shoes so that uneven wear from prior to surgery did not impact therapy or recovery. She also suggested that I replace all of my every day shoes and sandals as I could afford it, so old wear patterns didn't make me backslide in my recovery.

In PT I was coached to maintain an erect posture, not to turn my toes in or thrust my hip, strengthen and improve flexibility in the entire pelvic girdle as well as glutes & quads. In well-cushioned shoes, if one uses good posture, the shoes wear in to provide proper support.

Several years ago, I figured out that for me a lift is only necessary in hard-soled, uncushioned shoes.

The discrepancy between my legs still exists, and always will. The revision surgeon tried to correct it when he redid my hip, but it made the muscles and tendons loose because they had been stretched for a long time. Even with extra precautions, this resulted in dislocation while I was simply sitting in a chair. So he had to do another revision and return it close to the original length.