Interest in running recreationally and competitively is experiencing a meteoric rise. \u00a0The starting place for many interested in becoming a more serious runner is often a shoe store. Budding runners will invest in a new pair of running shoes believing the shoes will improve performance and prevent injury. Purchasing shoes sometimes includes a \u201cgait analysis\u201d performed by the shoe salesperson. A gait is a pattern of movement a person uses when they walk or run. A gait analysis is used to identify potential issues in someone\u2019s form that can inhibit performance or lead to injury.<\/p>\n
The problem is not all gait analyses are equal.<\/p>\n
Gait analysis performed at a shoe store is designed to sell shoes<\/strong><\/p>\n Though many believe the gait analysis they receive at a shoe store will give them insight in to becoming a better runner, that\u2019s not always the case. Often, these analyses are done in the moment, where the clerk will ask the customer to jog in place, so they can identify which shoe will best fit the person\u2019s form and gait.<\/p>\n Because this analysis is intended to sell shoes, the salesperson is typically focused only on the runner\u2019s feet, not in context with what is happening above that might be contributing to foot mechanics. For example, they focus on the runner\u2019s foot pronation (collapse of the arch) which is a normal function of foot mechanics during running, but not in excess. They will then suggest a shoe that can help to compensate for this excessive collapse to prevent over-use injury. Oftentimes, shoe store clerks receive little-to-no training other than to sell a shoe.<\/p>\n Running is a whole body sport<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhen people go in to a shoe store to get a gait analysis, there\u2019s usually no assessment of a person\u2019s functional movement patterns, muscle length and joint ranges of motion,\u201d explains Julie Young, an expert in endurance coaching, injury prevention\/return to sport and performance training. \u201cIt\u2019s like an investigative process. How we spend the majority of our day, injury and training history all contribute to our movement patterns. We have to collect and analyze all of the clues, put them together and come up with long-term solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n Running, like gymnastics or swimming, is a whole body sport. It doesn\u2019t rely solely on the feet but requires a body that\u2019s stable and mobile. A comprehensive gait analysis, like those prescribed by sports medicine centers can give an aspiring competitive runner a visual impression (and an invaluable teaching tool) of the body\u2019s break-down, which motivates the all-important activation, stability and mobility work.<\/p>\n A comprehensive analysis can also pinpoint specific strength and movement deficits in a runner\u2019s gait. By identifying these problem areas, a professional can develop a training plan to improve the runner\u2019s strength and movement deficits, while changing as little as possible in the individual\u2019s gait. This can reduce a runner\u2019s risk of injury, build strength and increase the runner\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n Running can lead to injury<\/strong><\/p>\n Unfortunately, many medical professionals only treat the victim (injured area) rather than above or beyond where the real criminal exists. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to visit with a specialist in both sports and medicine.<\/p>\n Young, who was a top international cyclist for 12 years, conducts gait analyses as the director of Silver Sage Sports & Fitness Lab<\/a>. She attends yearly courses at the University of Southern California\u2019s Movement Performance Institute<\/a> (MPI) as part of a fellowship. MPI, headed by Dr. Christopher Powers, conducts ongoing research on human biomechanics. Using state-of-the-art technology, Young has gained hands-on experience in identifying underlying movement impairments in a person\u2019s gait.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough his extensive research, Dr. Powers is one of the few physical therapists I know who actually has a protocol for diagnosing injury (uncovering the source, not just the symptoms) and provides a methodical, systematic protocol to return injured runners to their sport,\u201d Young said. \u201cMany runners are looking for a quick fix. But unfortunately there is no silver bullet, and like anything worth achieving, return to running takes consistent investment.\u201d<\/p>\n To identify potential problems, Young videos her clients running. Using frame-by-frame video analysis software, she\u2019s able to identify exactly where underlying strength and movement deficits exist. She then creates an exercise protocol to improve those areas of weakness.<\/p>\n \u201cFor good or bad we are in an age of profuse, and often-times conflicting information, which can feel overwhelming, we want to help filter this information and provide our clients with credible, science-based tool,\u201d said Young.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Interest in running recreationally and competitively is experiencing a meteoric rise. \u00a0The starting place for many interested in becoming a more serious runner is often a shoe store. Budding runners will invest in a new pair of running shoes believing the shoes will improve performance and prevent injury. Purchasing shoes sometimes includes a \u201cgait analysis\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[81,80,82],"class_list":["post-3881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletes-blog","category-services","tag-avoiding-running-injuries","tag-gait-analysis","tag-improving-performance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3881"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3966,"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3881\/revisions\/3966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/silversagecenter.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}