Run like a pro! Can Gait Analysis Help You Stay Healthy and Hit New Speeds?

For elite runners, efficiency is everything. It's the difference between pushing through that last mile and limping to the sidelines. Gait analysis, which examines your running form, can be a powerful tool for injury diagnosis and performance enhancement. But is it a magic bullet? Let's lace up and explore.

Typical Running Gait Errors

Recurring injuries can be a runner's worst nightmare. Gait analysis, often done by a Sports Therapist, Physiotherapist or running coach, can pinpoint potential troublemakers in your form. Common gait errors include:

Look carefully at this image of the strike point, the knee is slightly behind the contact point.

• Overpronation: When your foot rolls inward excessively with each stride, increasing stress on your knees and shins. You'll be familiar with this one if you have ever been for a trainer fitting. It’s the one trainer manufacturers promote their stability shoe to control.  

• Over supination: The opposite of overpronation, where your foot rolls outward too much. This is common following injury to your ankle or big toe where there is a lack of range of movement.

• Inefficient arm swing: An arm swing that significantly crosses the body can disrupt your body's natural rhythm and sap energy.

• Unequal stride length or early toe off: Common following injury where compensation patterns have developed.  

Correcting Your Running Gait

• Shoe selection: Choosing shoes with the right support and cushioning for your specific gait. Read my checklist for trainers here

• Form drills: Practicing drills to retrain your body for a more efficient stride.

Is Gait Analysis necessary?

While gait analysis offers valuable insights, it's important to remember that not all running styles are created equal. Some naturally efficient runners may have seemingly "incorrect" form yet remain injury-free.

Here's where a qualified professional comes in – they can differentiate between harmless quirks and potential problems. They can also identify weak muscles, flexibility issues, gaps and errors in your program and advise on shoe selection changes, all WITHOUT analysing your gait. From experience when you tell someone they are doing something wrong with their gait they will overcompensate.

Gait analysis can be a game-changer for runners seeking to stay healthy and improve performance. However, remember, it's a tool, not a definitive answer. By working with a professional and considering your individual running style, you can use gait analysis to take your running to the next level and enable you to get out there and conquer those miles!

If you want to discuss how gait analysis could help you, or if a running injury is getting you down, drop me a message.