Running Biomechanics
Running Biomechanics Assessment
Get an individualised breakdown of the key components of your running:
Foot strike analysis
Flexibility
Strength
Muscle capacity
Muscle balance
The assessment includes a report detailing each of these areas along with simple exercises to target your weaknesses that are easy to fit into your running routine.
Foot Strike Analysis
Biomechanical assessment of how you run - in your shoes - performed outside to get the most accurate, relevant information on your gait.
We use insole pressure sensors that we put into your running shoes (you can bring more than one pare of shoes if you want) to analyse your foot-strike.
The advantage of this system is that we can analyse your gait with you running outside rather than on a treadmill. This enables us to get the most accurate assessment of your gait pattern.
Flexibility Assessment
Take the guesswork out of your stretching routine! Did you know that when you run you need up to 50° of bend at your big toe but only 10° of rotation at your hips (check out the video above to see the impact that the big toe can have on our foot strike). It is common for runners to spend long periods of time working on their hip flexibility but very rarely do you find a runner working on their big toe bend.
Our flexibility assessment measures the range of motion at a number of key joints (big toes, ankles, knees and hips) and enables us to design an individual flexibility programme targeting the individual needs of your body.
Muscle Capacity Assessment
Probably the most neglected part of running training is strength training - yet this is where perhaps the most gains in performance and injury risk can be made.
Strength training has been shown to improve running economy and speed. But strength training can also help to improve our resilience to injury along with helping us to recover from any injuries and niggles that we may have.
Our running assessment looks at the key muscles group for running (calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes). Using this we can advise you on a simple strength training routine that you perform 1-2x a week to help improve your running performance and reduce your injury risk
Stability Assessment
Stability through the foot, ankle, hip and knee can have a big impact on our running performance. Being stable doesn’t change the impact forces that we experience as we run, but it does influence how we deal with those impact forces.
Our stability assessment uses a simple 10-point grading system that enables you to clearly see the areas of your stability you need to work on. Following this we use a step by step approach to stability training where we use simple exercises that become part of your running warm up.
Muscle Balance/Symmetry
Don’t run on one leg, you have two for a reason! A useful athletic target is 90% symmetry between the left and right sides. We use your assessment information to build a picture of your muscle balance that is easy for you to understand and work on.
Following their assessment, every client receives a report detailing their muscle imbalances along and simple exercises that you can fit in to your weekly routine to help you address these.