The difference between our Running Clinic (looking at the body as a whole) and a video assessment in a running shop (from the knee down)

It is a common selling point when buying new trainers from a running shop to get your ‘gait assessed’ or your ‘foot posture checked’. These assessments vary depending on what equipment they have available. Some shops offer video analysis – this is a video of your feet whilst you are running to see what part of your foot you strike the floor with and whether your foot rolls in excessively whilst it is in contact with the floor. From this they will advise whether you need cushioned trainers or any arch support. Another form of running shop foot assessment is the use of a force plate and a computer program. This is where you walk or run over a force plate and the computer program predicts what style of trainers you need dependant on the footprint you create. Any running assessment done in a running shop is looking at just your feet for a basic check on some common types of technique and they will advise you accordingly on the brands of shoes they know match that style.

The Running Clinic, offered here at The Physio Clinic is a full body assessment completed by a professional Therapist’s who specialises in movement assessment and run technique retraining. The Running Clinic includes a full

body video assessment, coupled with a movement screen, to assess how you walk, run, and move during basic tasks. This paints a whole picture of any areas you need to work on with your training schedule, running technique and strengthening exercises.

The sessions take you through a guided, gradual process of improving your strength and running technique with personalised one to one sessions and repeated re screening to see how you are improving. The video analysis tools used during the running clinic look at your body as a whole whilst you run and allows us to look in detail at what’s going on. The ability to see you in slow motion and calculate joint angles through your gait cycle means we get a more accurate idea of how you move. The Running Clinic is great

for improving your running efficiency and decreasing future injury risk.

In a nut shell a running shop assessment is done by a running shop assistant and is designed to pick out common basic running foot techniques and match them to a style of running shoe. The Running Clinic is an assessment and retraining program run by a rehab specialist to help you improve your running, whether you are just starting out or are striving for your next PB.