FREE GAIT ANALYSIS AT THE DERBY RUNNER*
Your footwear is the single most important part of your kit!!!
Think of it as the tyres on your car, if not fitted to the correct size and specification it can lead to massive issues with your car’s performance even leading to a broken car. Would you buy tyres without first knowing the right size? Would you drive on tyres that haven’t been changed in 10 years and done thousands of miles on them?
Like car tyres, Correct Footwear when carrying out exercises involving repetitive foot-strike (running/power-walking/aerobics-type classes) is very important to protect muscles and joints and prevent increased injury risks. Many injuries (and potential injuries) experienced during these activities are related to an individual’s lower-limb-biomechanics; – The way in which the foot and lower leg react, while in motion.
Using slow-motion capture technology, our staff are able to video a runner/walker on our treadmill and then watch it back frame-by-frame on our in-store tablet to accurately assess their foot-strike, foot type and running biomechanics.
There are different shoes available for different ‘foot types’. With shoes primarily being categorised based on the amount of support, they have to control overpronation.
Pronation refers to the inward roll of the foot during normal motion and occurs as the outer edge of the heel strikes the ground and the foot rolls inward and flattens out. A moderate amount of pronation is required for the foot to function properly, however, damage and injury can occur during excessive pronation. Different people require different levels of support to control pronation. Therefore, it is important that the level of support a shoe provides matches the individual’s foot type.
All staff at The Derby Runner are on hand to ensure each customer is put into the right shoe for their foot, based upon support level, size, width and activity.
WHAT TO BRING TO OUR GAIT ANALYSIS
To complete the gait analysis it can help that you have some experience running on a treadmill, it is by no means necessary, however, a lack of experience can create changes to your 'normal' running gait which could influence our judgement on shoe choices for yourself; if you are not confident on a treadmill DON'T WORRY, we have other and extra ways to assess you for the correct shoe type which we can use instead of the treadmill assessment.
Other than this you do not need to bring anything particularly special to complete the gait analysis, it can be useful to be in clothes comfortable to run in for a short period of time, a pair of socks that you would usually run in as well as bringing the shoes you have currently been using to run in.
*The Gait analysis is FREE of charge with the purchase of a pair of ANY type of Running shoes on the same visit, if you wish to have the gait analysis as a stand-alone service we charge a fee of £25. For this, you would receive a voucher for the same value which can be redeemed on the purchase of shoes anytime in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Gait Analysis
Q: Do I need to book in for a Gait Analysis?
A: A booking is not required to have a Gait Analysis, you can simply show up at the shop and request to have one, if you would like to ensure you get seen at a specific time you can book in through the following link Here.
Q: How long does the Gait Analysis take?
A: The Gait Analysis itself i.e., running on the treadmill takes at most 5 minutes, the further explanation and discussion about your Running Gait can take anywhere between 5 - 20 minutes depending on the number of points and questions you have. After this, the process of trying on shoes and finding the correct one takes as long as it needs to before you are confident you have found the right shoes for you. Overall for the full process, it can take anywhere between 20 minutes to 1.5 hours.
Q: I've been running without any injuries for years, do I need a Gait Analysis?
A: Although the majority of people want or require a Gait Analysis to fix an issue, which can usually be helped through this process and by purchasing the correct pair of shoes; it can also be useful to look into your Gait even if there are no issues at all, you may be thinking of increasing your running distance for a specific race, or you may not be progressing with your running in the way you wanted or expected to be. The Gait Analysis may be the key to helping identify how good your running Biomechanics are and what can help you get to the new distance and or take your running performance to the next level.
Q: How often do I need a Gait Analysis?
A: Running Gait is not something that changes greatly over time unless there are big changes to your running distance or speed. If you have never run before you get a Gait Analysis for your first trainer fitting, then progress over the next year to increase your distance and reduce your times over 5km, for example, it can be useful to be rechecked the following time you need to replace your running shoes. If you are a runner that keeps running fairly consistent regarding distance and times; unless you experience some pain or are looking to progress in your running, it is unlikely that your running Gait will have changed throughout the time since your last Gait Analysis, so you can be confident that coming in and replacing shoes for something in a similar category will work for you.
