Running Assessment

Are you a serious or recreational runner, extreme sportsman or woman, or a triathlete who experiences pain either during or after your runs and which is interfering with your training schedule?

Do you experience any of these symptoms either during or after a run?

• Painful shins

• Heel pain

• Back pain

• Achilles pain

• Pain under the arches of your feet

• Pain in the back of your thigh or calf

• Tingling or numbness in your feet

What is running assessment?

Running assessments are a useful tool for analysing the underlying causes of pain or injury both for the casual runner and the elite athlete, who may be pain-free during normal activity but feel pain when running. Following a thorough physical assessment, our physiotherapists evaluate a client's gait and perform a biomechanical analysis, of walking and running on a treadmill, using computerised video technology.

The information obtained from the running assessment enables the physiotherapist to treat not only the symptoms, but to identify and remedy the cause of the dysfunction. Clients are given recommendations for adjustment of stretching, strengthening and core stability programmes. Identifying and dealing with underlying biomechanical problems allows the athlete to return safely to sport with a decreased risk of injury.

Some examples of biomechanical problems which can lead to pain in runners:

• Over-pronation of one or both feet

• Differences in leg lengths

• Poor pelvic control

• Muscle imbalance or tightness spinal stiffness

• Poor core stability

• Over-striding

Sportsperformance physiotherapy offers video analysed running assessment that allows our physiotherapists to look at your running style and identify any underlying biomechanical problems which are difficult to identify with a static assessment.

What does this running assessment consist of?

• A thorough physical assessment by a physiotherapist

• Video analysis of your running both from behind and from the side

• Discussion with the physiotherapist on the findings of the video analysis

• A specific exercise programme tailored to your individual requirements

How long does this take?

• It takes approximately one hour to complete the assessment and run through the exercise programme.