What is a Gait Analysis?
A gait analysis involves observing how someone walks or runs in order to determine if changes to the movement are necessary to prevent injuries. At Compass we use the Orthotic Group force platform to our gait analysis. The TOG force platform takes 300 frames a second as you walk over it. The software provides a report on static weight bearing, dynamic walking and postural stability.
Why is gait important?
A lot of little things, lead to big things. If you have a small issue with your gait it can build to become a bigger issue over time. Even small problems in the gait cycle can be problematic especially if you’re walking 10,000 steps a day. Our gait becomes even more important when we increase our speed and impact with running and jumping sports injuries.
What can be done?
What can be done depends on what is going on. For example we might notice that someone puts too much pressure on their 2nd and 3rd toes which can lead to a stress fracture or a neuroma. In this situation we would train the patient to engage the first toe to carry the majority of the weight of the body. We would also look at how much their arch drops when they bare weight and if this is an issue we would provide exercises to correct the problem.