Gait & Running Analysis
Gait analysis evaluates and assesses an individual’s running and movement patterns in order to improve technique, enhance performance and assist in diagnosing pathologies and dysfunctions. It can also be used to select the best footwear for the runner.
Here at Comfort Health we have developed a comprehensive analysis package to understand how you run, why you might be experiencing pain and identify the likely causes of injury whether you are new to running or an experienced athlete.
Having your running assessed will help to identify your hip, knee and ankle positioning while you run and the range of motion in your joints during the different phases of gait (foot strike, mid stance and toe off). Your step rate and stride length is also assessed.
Having all these areas analysed will highlight any restrictions, areas of weakness/tightness and muscle imbalances, which you can then work with your Physio to correct, helping to prevent any injuries. Highlighting and working on these areas will also help to increase performance.
Here at Comfort Health we have developed a premium session to provide you with a bespoke, fully comprehensive gait and running analysis. The sessions will be with our gait and running specialist Dan.
Our gait analysis is an in depth session lasting 75 minutes. It consists of a gait assessment on our treadmill, an evaluation on how to improve your running technique, a footwear assessment and recommendations for performance improvement and injury prevention. On top of this you also receive a full physiotherapy treatment consisting of; hands-on treatment, range of movement tests, strength tests and weakness identification. You will also receive a personalised exercise plan as well as the footage and photos from your gait analysis.
Running is about getting from A to B as efficiently as possible with the minimal amount of energy expenditure. During our gait analysis, we can identify areas that are likely to be contributing to a less efficient running economy and by correcting these, can enhance your running performance. A good example of this can be by reducing the amount of pelvic drop. You can achieve this by slightly increasing your stride width and decreasing hip adduction, thus resulting in improved efficiency.
Keeping you injury and pain free is one Comfort Health’s main goals when working with runners. When it comes to running gait, there is no one size fits all approach. Every runner is different and changes to technique should be based on an individuals’ need. We work with you to identify area’s that could be prone to becoming injured and help reduce the risk of injury.
Some examples of what we look for during our comprehensive analysis are:
A tight Achilles tendon or calf muscles can limit your ankle range of movement and predispose an athlete to Achilles tendonitis. Looking at your ankle range of motion and stride length during the gait cycle will help to identify this.
Tight hamstrings and quadricep muscles can lead to a restricted knee movement when running. This can contribute to knee and hip injuries. Looking at the amount of knee flexion you have during the swing phase of gait can help to identify and correct this.
You can run pain free!
Comfort Health is becoming increasingly renowned for Physiotherapy in Bristol. We have won a total of 13 awards over the last 7 years for excellence in Physio, Massage and well-being.
Don’t just take their word for it, have a look at some of our client testimonials to see why they think we’re the best Physio Clinic in Bristol, take a look on our website, on google, or on Facebook for plenty of 5 star reviews!