does rear lift offload weight?

[Dave ESPI]

I think if you are willing to take recomendations from people who haven't seen you on your set up you've already lost the battle.

Sprinkle your board with a bit of Catnip and light some incense at the top of the trail that you want to share a kindred spirit with among the granules of snow, and say a little prayer, then and only then will you be ZEN with the hill............

[Erik J]

So my right leg is a bit shorter than my left, a chiropractor told me it was significantly so. I didn't ask him by how much. Any advice for an assymetrical freak?

I've been riding with heel and toe lift for while now. I remember V*L*A*D advising me many years ago to ride flat. I tried it and had the sensation that my board was riding longer. I've tried quite a few other options since then and wound up where I am now. Maybe I'll give it a try again. I do like the wider stance of 21" where I'm at. I feel it gives me lots of room to play with for and aft pressure. To go flat I would assume I'd have to shorten my stance.

I saw a mention of back/disc problems which got my attention - which is why I'm seeing a chiropractor. My knees are solid but I'm wondering if my stance has to do with unecessary strain on my back/disc thingys.

[V*L*A*D]

Johan- One of the two mitigating factors which crossed me over to 'boarding, from ski racing, in the 80s, was my stack of knee injuries (9 surgeries...what a moron), and my asym leg length.

With skis, it's an immense issue, as one ski will always turn more easily than the other, thereby making one turn easier than the other.

being as both legs stay on one board in 'boarding, I felt less constrained by this anomaly.

Uneven leg length is far more common than most realize (I've encountered it more often than not in coaching and bootfitting)- a halfway decent coach can see it in a skier in about 4 turns.

In many cases (certainly my own) it's the result of femoral fractures in still-developing legs.

The hand-in-hand issue with this, and the chicken-and-egg vary widely, is hip canting and hip rotation.

stand up, away from the keyboard for a minute, close your eyes, bounce on your knees and ankles for a moment, shake out your arms, and let them hang by your sides, at rest. now, open your eyes (umm...AFTER you've read all this) and look at your hands, keeping them hanging limp...

is one in front of your hips and one behind?

This suggests a rotational issue with your hips, which is likely related to a leg length difference (although not neccesarily so).

this syndrome is far-too-common in aboarders, for obvious reasons.

it's also one of the reasons I encourage serious riders to spend their Summers away from the snowboard...It's good to allow the discs to decompress some, and also to allow the varioius muscles of the lower back to relax over time.

(Qui Gong tui na massage is outstanding in acceleration of this relaxation..)

anyway- look into stretching exercises for your lower back, with that leg-length asymmetry.

The argument for and against using a 'riser' under the 'short' leg is compelling on both ends.

I'm all for it, esp. if you intend to accomodate the assyemetry in your off-board life, as well. I was so-driven to consider leg-length surgery at one point (whereby the femur of one leg has a section removed and it's reattached, so as to allow it to refuse)...but my difference is pretty slight.

Look at the soles of your street shoes and check the wear pattern , much as you would on your car's tires.

similar show patterns reveal pathologies similar to those of tires....alignment IS alignment, esp. wherever rubber meets the road.

let me know what your wear patterns look like on highly-used shoes.

-Jay

(yes, M*A*S*H)

[Erik J]

So I shook myself silly, came to rest, and my hands hung very evenly, slightly forward of my hips and shoulders.

My shoes have fairly even wear on the rear-most (?) outside heel portions. Standing flat I can feel my right foot flat on the floor, right knee settled back into it's burrow, very slightly hyperextended. The left leg feels a little lighter in the heel with my left knee poked forward ever so slightly. So I notice the uneveness in legs without a doubt.

As far as stretching goes I practice yoga regularly and do mild core exercises (abs & lower back, hips etc.). I lay off boarding type stuff in the summer - prefering to hurt myself running hills and doing other exercises.

Massage! I don't need an excuse for that but it doesn't hurt to have one.

[V*L*A*D]

So I shook myself silly, came to rest, and my hands hung very evenly, slightly forward of my hips and shoulders.

My shoes have fairly even wear on the rear-most (?) outside heel portions. Standing flat I can feel my right foot flat on the floor, right knee settled back into it's burrow, very slightly hyperextended. The left leg feels a little lighter in the heel with my left knee poked forward ever so slightly. So I notice the uneveness in legs without a doubt.

As far as stretching goes I practice yoga regularly and do mild core exercises (abs & lower back, hips etc.). I lay off boarding type stuff in the summer - prefering to hurt myself running hills and doing other exercises.

Massage! I don't need an excuse for that but it doesn't hurt to have one.

That's good news, as your asymmetry, then, isn't too hideous. If it were, you'd likely see the compensatory rotation and cant.

Your asymmetry is similar to mine, with the longer L. leg (I blame society, or at least that badly fractured R. leg when i was 14).

my own, very unprofessional opinion is that you'll do fine without trying to correct this via artificial means.

sometimes 'lifting' such a minor irregularity creates greater problems for the associated soft tissues through constant adjustment.

You can always simply purchase a set of Dr. Scholl's insoles

and wear one, or both (one flipped over) in your right shoe for a few days, and see if this alleviates any attendant issues. Not radical enough to do real damage, but enough to give you an idea of your candidacy for lifting.

not sure if you wear custom footbeds, but a set does wonders for small asymmetries.

I like superfeet corks, i was trained in setting them up, and I've found that cheap-ass pseudo-birckenstocks from Target ("tar-Jhay"), w/the straps and outsoles removed, and heated in a toaster oven at low for 20 minutes, can do great things, as well... but then, that's just me-:D