Last week I published a post where I invited you to play the role of Physical Therapist and evaluate my friend Lauren’s running gait. The response to that post was quite amazing, and we plan to do some follow-up filming outdoors with a local specialist later this week – stay tuned! One of the points I made in the intro to that post was that video analysis can be a great way to develop a mental picture of what you are doing when you run. However, when it comes to diagnosing Nike Air Max Classic BW Femme problems with gait that might be causing some type of injury, it’s wise to enlist the help of someone who has clinical experience treating runners – it’s just as possible that you might do harm by monkeying around with your stride as it is that you might fix problems by forcing a change.In a somewhat fortuitous coincidence, my friend Bill Katovsky recently Adidas Superstar Dam forwarded me a piece written by Dr. Phil Maffetone on the pros and cons of video analysis in the treatment of running injuries. Phil has treated and coached many high caliber endurance athletes over the years, and writes extensively on topics related to health and fitness. A few months ago, I obtained a copy of his most recent book, The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing – though I haven’t read it yet in its entirety, the book includes some great material on foot function, www.melanieo.fr shoes, and running gait (naturally, I read those chapters in short order!).
Given its relevance to the post I put up last week, I asked Phil if I could re-post his piece on video analysis, and he happily agreed. The original version can be found here. Let us know what you think!For the past several decades, video analysis of human movement has been used Nike Air Max 90 Donne in virtually all sports by coaches, athletes, and healthcare professionals. Because of the relative ease of combining video and treadmill activity, this approach is now common in the evaluation of running gait. Properly applied, video analysis can be an important assessment tool, helping to reveal gait abnormalities and add to our knowledge and research of body mechanics.
In isolation of other factors, however, video gait analysis has limited value. An abnormal irregular gait pattern is most often the end result of some imbalance Adidas NMD Donne in the body or wearing improper shoes, and rarely due to just bad running posture. The ideal use of video analysis of gait combines it with a complete assessment including a health and fitness history, a thorough physical examination, and others such as blood and urine tests or x-rays that may be necessary Nike Air Max 90 Femme to uncover a problem that influences gait, for a comprehensive evaluation of an individual.Even to the untrained eye, it’s not difficult to observe an asymmetrical or awkward gait, even without a video—just watch other runners on the roads, track, or in parks. Fatigue can worsen most gait problems, so at the end of a 10K race or during the second half of a marathon, irregular gaits are more common and most obvious.One must differentiate an abnormal, irregular-looking gait from one that is an individual’s normal running pattern. Regardless of your speed, running incorporates Nike Air Max 95 Femme the use of more muscle mass than virtually all other regular activities. As such, one’s gait reflects individuality because the muscles (and their tendons) and bones (and associated ligaments) are not perfectly symmetrical between left and right side, and Nike Air Max 95 Femme also vary from one person to the next. Like a unique “fingerprint,” this contributes to each person’s particular gait.Other than the effect of wearing ill-fitting shoes, or those that have too much heel or are overly rigid, muscle imbalance may be one of the most common causes for an abnormal, irregular gait because the body’s neuromuscular system (including the brain, and nerves connected to the muscles) is responsible for all movement. For example, let’s say you pulled your right hamstring a few months ago, which caused weakness. A secondary problem might have developed as compensation—tightness in the right quadriceps. One possible end-result of this muscle imbalance is www.charleedrew.co.uk that the pelvis tilts downward on the same side and rotates forward, triggering tightness in the low back muscles. The result is an irregular gait—the right leg Nike Air Max Classic BW Donne may stride slightly longer than the left, and the tension in the low back increases extension in the spine, distorting it all the way up to the head. (In addition to slowing you down at the same heart rate—the energy cost of running increases—you’ll fatigue easier and be at risk for an injury, typically one associated with inflammation in the hip, knee or Nike Air Max 270 Mens spine.)
