Well I've been and had it done... and really enjoyed the whole thing!
Perhaps I drove a little far - and the pessimists could describe it as a glorified gait analysis similar to that you'd get done when buying new shoes, but I felt it was well worth the £50 of my hard earned cash that I handed over. I dealt with Colin at Solutions for feet in Bicester, who i'd happily recommend to anyone for the same analysis - he sure knows his stuff!
In a nutshell, I turned up, got changed into my running kit, and spoke briefly about why i'd come for an analysis, any existing problems, anything causing me grief etc...
I ran on the treadmill in my running shoes, then ran on the treadmill barefoot, and was videoed from the rear in both instances ready for analysis of my dynamic biomechanics.
My details were tapped into the computer and we were ready to go through the rest of the process.
Static
Colin asked me to perform a few simple tasks and looked at my feet to study my static biomechanics.
From this I learned that my feet have:
- Normal arched feet
- Callusing under metatarsal heads (causes of which were explained)
- enlargement of the 1st n 5th metatarsal head
and a few other bits and bobs that i'm going to read into further.
I have neutral static leg axis, and I have good (normal) flexibility in my upper ankle joint.
Dynamics
The dynamics study was most impressive, basically Colin took me through my running motion and explained what was happening at each stage of my gait cycle, it was quite obvious that my left knee dropped inward slightly (fermoral rotation inward) and that my right knee rotated quite significantly inward - this related perfectly to the knee pain I'd started to suffer as I'd upped my mileage (it either caused pain on the inside of the knee or the ITB, I forget now which one!).
I have a slight Pelvis instability, when my right foot is on the ground the left hip tilts downward - caused by weak right gluteal (arse) muscles, I think the piriformis was mentioned in particular. No problem when my left leg is on the ground though - this relates perfectly again to the knee pain i've noticed with increased mileage (that is the pain on the OTHER side of the knee caused by my right knee dropping inward - i just forget which item relates to which side of the knee, lol)
Stride Pattern
My feet don't overcross as I run, and my foot rotates normally (I naturally stand with my feet in a slight V position).
Furthermore I'm a confirmed heel-striker (which of course I already knew), I over-pronate slightly (though less than I originally thought) and I toe off over the 2nd and 3rd metatarsal heads (fairly neutral I believe).
I was taken through a number of strengthening exercises that should help me resolve these issues and improve my running efficiency and a number of stretches to go with them.
Finally we talked about shoes. It turns out my current trainers (Asics Gel Kayano's) provide a little too much support for my level of overpronation, and I was given a list of 10 particular shoes from various brands that would be best suited for me.
A bit of a long post I know, but I thought I'd share my experience. For the price I would sincerely recommend it to anyone who's half serious about running, or anyone who has any niggles etc from their running. I'm so much happier now that I understand what's going on underneath me while I'm running! :d
