Gait Analysis in Essendon & Blackburn
Melbourne Podiatry Clinic based in Essendon & Blackburn provide quality care to residents throughout Melbourne including Strathmore, Essendon, Blackburn, Box Hill, Mitcham, Brunswick West & Forest Hill.
Do you get pain when you run? Do your feet or knees hurt after exercise? Do you have abnormal wear on your shoes? This can be a sign of alignment issues causing injury to your joints and muscles.
Why do we do gait analysis?
- Reproduce symptoms
- Look for clues to further investigation
- Strength testing
- Flexibility measures
- Asymmetry?
- Difficult to treat an injury if we can’t see what is happening when running
When you are running your body absorbs up to three times your body weight each foot strike. For a 70kg runner that is over 200kg per stride. Studies show that up to 79% of runners develop an overuse injury in a year and 70% of these injuries will reoccur. Injuries to the knees, feet and lower legs make up 72% of all running injuries. The major cause of overuse injury is biomechanical alignment issues and poor running technique.
What we do
At Melbourne Podiatry Clinic we take a detailed medical history followed by a comprehensive examination of the painful area. We then conduct a gait analysis to determine the exact cause of your pain to provide the best treatment. Our patients are assessed either walking or running on a treadmill using motion capture software. This enables us to assess the position of your hips, knees and feet to see if these are contributing factors to your pain. Before we prescribe an orthotic we will first work with you to determine if simple gait modifications are required to correct your biomechanics. If you require orthotics to realign your body, this is done using the Foot Alignment System™ that captures an impression of your foot in stance to more accurately prescribe the exact level of support for you. Your sports podiatrist will also provide footwear advice and stretching/strengthening exercises specific to your condition to help get you back on your feet quicker and back running.
Gait Re-Training
At Melbourne Podiatry Clinic not only do we treat your foot and leg pain we also teach you to run better – helping you to be more efficient, reduce running injury and run stronger! Running technique plays a significant role in the development of overuse injuries and we can teach you ways to modify your running gait to prevent foot and knee pain.