WATCH YOUR STEP
Recurring injury bringing your running to a hault?
For many novice runners, injury is an all too familiar setback. When an injury occurs the typical response is to rest a day or so and, if it doesn’t improve, head off to the doctor’s office. Perhaps with rest, medication and a little physical therapy, the pain goes away, only to rear its ugly head again when you resume running. If this applies to you, an analysis of your running gait is a great idea.
Many running injuries can be traced back to a mechanical cause. Slightly twisting the hip can cause pain in the foot. Slightly improper foot position can cause pain in the shins, knees or hips. Essentially any mechanical deviation from normal running form can potentially cause an injury. If the deviation is due to a weakness, stiffness or just habit, it can reappear anytime running is performed. A gait analysis by an expert physical therapist or certified athletic trainer can pinpoint possible causes of injury (or reinjury).
The analysis process:
The therapist will do a physical exam to determine where you are weak, strong, stiff or loose and talk to you about the history of your injuries. Then you will be asked to run while they videotape your running gait from multiple angles. Most therapists doing this type of analysis use digital video that they run through a computer program. Using your video, they will analyze your running form during its various phases. They will look at your foot as it hits the ground, how well you bend your knees, how much your foot, knee or hip turns, and how you move in general.
An expert therapist will review this with you and show you how the physical findings (strength, stiffness, etc.) match up to what the video shows. After the cause of your running injuries has been determined, a program will be developed to correct your gait and the things that contribute to any issues. They might even give you a copy of your video to review at home.
Consider the need for a gait analysis like you would a problem with the tires on your car. If your car was out of alignment and wearing out your tires too quickly, you wouldn’t just keep buying new sets of tires; you would get the alignment fixed so the tires performed normally. Likewise, you would take your car to someone who knows how your car is supposed to work and how to fix it. Why would you do anything less for your body?
Other Trusted Sources:
emedicine.com
