We get lots of athletes come through our doors. And with our many years of combined experience we are certain we can help you get the most out of your sports performance.
All our podiatrists are trained in visual gait analysis. This is the assessment of the way that you walk or run. Gait analysis is a key aspect of our ‘biomechanical assessment.’ A biomechanical assessment is conducted to look at your stance, posture, gait, joint movements, muscle strength and even wear-patterns on your shoes in order to give a comprehensive insight into your body!
Each of our clinics have a treadmill for you to walk or run on while we assess your gait. Alternatively if you are not comfortable or familiar with treadmills, we can perform this assessment up and down the hallway. As we walk faster movement happens very quickly. This is why we use computer technology to film and analyse your gait frame-by-frame. This allows us to pick up small movements, which may not be visible to the naked eye.
After this assessment your podiatrist will combine the key findings of the gait assessment with the findings of your stance, joint and muscle testing. This holistic approach often reveals ‘faults’ that could be improved upon to better your performance, and reduce your chance of injury.
We recommend that you bring your footwear and any orthotics or innersoles that you wear with you to your appointment. We can evaluate the shoes and your orthotics to make sure they are appropriate for your biomechanics, your foot and your activity. If you need new shoes, we recommend that you wait until after your assessment with Entire Podiatry before purchasing them. This way we can make suggestions about the right type of shoe for you.
Some examples of what your podiatrist might learn from such an assessment can include:
- Footwear advice: It’s incredible what a huge difference the right (or wrong!) shoe can have on your performance. If you are in the wrong shoe it can lead to all kids of problems, from blisters, corns and calluses, poor shock absorption, ankle instability or muscle fatigue and pain.
- Muscle weaknesses: In order to be efficient and stable, we need our muscle groups to all function effectively and in synch with each other. Muscle group imbalances can affect the way that you walk or run, leading to injury.
- Muscles tightness: Tight muscles lead to more than just sore muscles. Tight muscles can change the way that your feet and lower limbs work and move. This can lead to overuse, injury and ineffective movements.
- Kinetic issues: Your podiatrist may discover ways that you can consciously improve your gait technique. For example, over or under striding (taking steps that are too big or too small) can negatively affect the way that you run. But this can be changed with simple mental ‘cues’, which your podiatrist can teach you.
No one is perfect and there is almost always something that can be improved upon with your biomechanics to optimise your sports performance. After your podiatrist conducts this assessment they will then help you put a plan into place to work on and improve these findings. This may be a combination of footwear advice, load management, stretches or strengthening.
Zebris Gait Analysis
We are proud to introduce state-of-the-art equipment into our clinics to achieve the best possible gait analysis for our patients.
This technology is available at our Toowong clinic and is conducted by skilled podiatrists who have a keen interest in running and sports performance.
This will allow you to get the most accurate and detailed assessment of your sports performance.
The Zebris Gait Analysis System is the latest advancement in computerised gait assessment. The system involves a treadmill with over 7000 inbuilt individual pressure sensors. This creates a complete picture of your gait and biomechanics by understanding how the pressure and force is carried through your feet as you walk, stand and run. This technology is combined with the use of 2 high-speed cameras to analyse your gait frame by frame. This provides precise quantifiable information about your gait and biomechanics which was previously unattainable outside a clinical research centre.
Read more about the Zebris Running Gait Analysis technology available at our Toowong clinic.
Book a gait analysis at our Toowong clinic in Brisbane
Phone: 07 3462 0268
Fax: 07 3053 3128
Address: 4/621 Coronation Drive, Toowong Q 4066
Email: [email protected]
