Standing Taller This Christmas

There are many different types of shoe lifts available on the market today, all serve the same purpose, to increase the user's height but all shoe lifts are not the same, they differ in several respects and offer different benefits. Basically a shoe lift is an insole, designed to increase height or to eliminate any disparity between the length of the legs (leg length discrepancy). To achieve this the shoe lift or heel lift, insole incorporates a tapered section at the rear, where the heel of the foot meets the lift, this raises the heel and increases the height, Ladies high heel shoes do exactly the same thing as does a car jack but with less appealing visual results.

Adjustable Shoe Lifts
Some shoe lifts are referred to as adjustable shoe lifts, what this means is that the thickness at the heel point of the height insole can be varied according to taste, by adding wedge shaped inserts to the shoe lift extra height increase can be achieved, The adding of extra wedges has two major advantages, firstly, the shoe lift wearer can gradually increase their height, so as to avoid a sudden jump in height, that might cause unwanted comments, secondly the user can become accustomed to walking with the shoe lifts, this is a very good point to consider when buying you first shoe lifts, walking will feel different at first and the ability to gradually introduce the lift wedges can avoid serious accidents caused by instability.

<iframe align=right width=210 height=170 src=http://www.youtube.com/embed/re49hANjJrg frameborder=0 allowfullscreen></iframe>Leg Length Discrepancy
Whenever an individual has a difference in the length of lower limbs problems are going to occur, difficulty in walking is often experienced and in many cases there is a pronounced limping. A Pediatric specialist may decide to prescribe the use of shoe or heel lifts to counter the difference in leg length, if for example the left leg is half an inch (13mm) shorter than the right leg, a shoe lift of half an inch (13mm) placed in the left foot shoe will even out the discrepancy and enable the sufferer to walk without a limp and in many many cases the sufferer will experience a significant reduction in foot pain, back pain and of course a substantial increase of self confidence.

Shoe Lifts Insoles vs Heel Lifts
Shoe Lifts and heel lifts are the same thing, also called shoe inserts, it depends on where you live in the world or who you are talking to, I think of shoe lifts as being height increase solutions and heel lifts as leg length discrepancy solutions, both obviously being shoe inserts as they are inserted into the shoe. The full length insole shoe lift, in my opinion is the safer and more secure option, as there is less chance of the insole slipping out of place and causing injury, this can and does happen and from personal experience I can say that the results are not pleasant. Full Length shoe lifts can also be adjustable and therefore offer the gradual height increase I mentioned above. Veteran shoe lift users will be fine with one piece lifts but I seriously advise that the beginner makes a start with adjustable shoe or heel lifts.