fbpx
Clinic:06 370 4057
Yes, we're open Late Nights BOOK ONLINE NOW

Gait Analysis

Gait Analysis

 

A gait analysis is a detailed look into your gait – meaning the way the muscles, bones, joints and ligaments in your feet and legs all work together to produce movement, whether you’re walking or running.

 

Having a gait analysis with our Masterton podiatrists means that we observe, record and analyse your gait on a video treadmill, and use this information to understand the muscle, skeletal or nerve pain you may be experiencing – or simply why you may not be performing as optimally on the field as you could be. We’ll go over the video recording with you, explain to you exactly what we’re seeing, and what it means for you. Examples of things that your gait analysis may reveal include:

 

  • That you’re hitching your hip to take a step, which may be leading to your hip pain and will prompt us to investigate whether you have a leg length difference that makes you naturally take this hitching action. If you do, this is something we can easily treat.
  • The biomechanics of your feet means that your forefoot is being overloaded during gait, which may explain the joint pain and swelling at the ball of your foot that we call capsulitis
  • Your high-arched foot seems unstable during gait from the way it moves, prompting us to investigate whether you may have chronic ankle instability
  • Your tight Achilles tendon is causing you to lift your heel early and paired with your flat foot posture, load your big toe in an unnatural way, which may explain the start of the bunion you have noticed

 

A gait analysis with our podiatrists may be performed on its own, or is always included as part of our comprehensive biomechanical assessment.

 

What happens after a gait analysis?

Your gait analysis will help us either by providing insights into further areas we should investigate, or help confirm a diagnosis. We consider this key in helping you get the best results for a range of foot and leg pains and problems, particularly when they’re musculoskeletal in nature. So after your gait assessment, we’ll be able to create the best treatment plan for you to meet your goals by having a complete picture of what’s going on. Your gait analysis can help with treatment plans for a wide range of conditions including:

 

 

A gait analysis is beneficial for both adults and children, and the speed of our treadmill is easily adjusted to match your personal walking and running pace, providing you with maximum comfort during the process.