A running biomechanics assessment can be booked as a stand alone assessment, or it may form part of your overall treatment. You can self refer (i.e. just call us and book in) or your physiotherapist may suggest a biomechanics assessment to you.
If you are interested in a running assessment but are limited by pain/injury we can get your recovery started with assessment and treatment, progressing you to a running biomechanics assessment when your symptoms allow. Running assessments are most beneficial when you are symptom free.
It’s a good idea to get your running assessed if you:
Suffer from overuse injuries and want to know why.
Are recovering from an injury and want to be able to progress your running while not over-loading the injured area.
Are wanting to improve your performance.
Are wanting to increase your enjoyment of running.
Are wanting to change your running form or have started barefoot running and you are not sure if you are running correctly and safely.
What to Expect
Bring your usual running clothes along to the assessment, along with your running shoes. If you have several pairs of shoes and want to know which pairs you run better in, bring up to 3 pairs along with you. When it comes to clothing choices, wear tighter fitting or shorter fitting items as it makes it easier for us to see what you are doing.
Running assessments are broken into two segments.
1. Biomechanic assessment (this segment involves drills such as lunges and squats which give us a clear idea of the way you move so we can look to improve your technique).
2. Running assessment on the treadmill (this is not the same as running outside but still gives us a good insight into your running technique).
This is a trial and error process to find the perfect drills for you to use as part of your warm ups when running. The purpose of using drills is to use a motor learning process rather than a cognitive learning process to make the movement more natural, and to give you a tool you can use when you are out running.