Biomechanical Gait Analysis

A biomechanical foot assessment involves an examination of the lower limbs, looking at their structure, alignment, strengths, and weaknesses. Your foot and ankle are extraordinarily complex, containing 28 bones, 214 ligaments and 38 muscles. They take your weight multiple times a day and are subsequently prone to over-use conditions and other types of injury.

Gait Analysis identifies the underlying mechanical causes of common foot and lower limb problems. Biomechanical problems attributed to the foot, include heel and arch pain, ankle pain, leg cramps, knee pain, hip pain, and lower back pain. This assessment allows us to identify and treat a number of complex gait issues, from injury rehabilitation, to improving sporting performance.

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Assessment & Treatment

  • What happens during the asessment?

As part of a biomechanical foot assessment, I will observe and measure the range of joint motion, muscle strength and flexibility, looking for misalignments in the feet, legs, pelvis and shoulders. The assessment also involves looking at the way you stand and walk, assessing your footwear and lifestyle.

The assessment measures:

  • Range of motion through the joints
  • Proprioception (balance)
  • Muscle strength testing
  • Foot Posture Index
  • Palpation of affected structures
  • Footwear Assessment
  • Exercise Rehabilitation
  • Custom Orthotics and Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFO’s)
  • Soft Tissue Mobilisation

After the assessment, a treatment plan is drawn up which will normally include prescription orthotics, footwear recommendations and stretching and exercise programs.

Orthotics are inserts that comfortably fit into shoes; they are designed to support and improve the functioning of feet. Foot orthoses are prescribed for many biomechanical foot disorders such as:

  • High Arches,
  • Pronation (flat feet),
  • Bunions aka Hallux Valgus
  • Hallux Rigidus
  • Arch pain,
  • Metatarsalgia (Ball of the foot pain)
  • Morton’s Neuromas
  • Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain).
  • Ankle pain
  • Achilles tendinopathy
  • Shin splint
  • Knee pain
  • Hip pain & Lower limb discrepancy

They improve foot function, support the foot and redistribute forces acting on the foot and lower limb. In some cases, they aim to accommodate deformity and provide cushioning.

Custom Foot Orthotics help stabilise and compensate poor foot posture.

The aim of a foot orthoses is to correct dysfunctional biomechanics and therefore:

  • reduce pain.
  • provide support.
  • prevent or halt the development of foot deformity.
  • provide better positioning.
  • relieve pressure on a certain area of the foot.
  • improve the overall biomechanical function of the foot.
  • improve pelvic alignment.
  • reduce lower limb torsion and knee stress.

This allows joints to be aligned correctly and promotes efficient transmission of biomechanical forces.

The goal of orthotics therapy is to reduce internal and external forces which are acting on specific parts of foot, to treat injury and reduce foot pain.

Orthotics alter pressure coming from the ground to the foot (ground reaction force) when you stand, walk or run. By altering these forces, we can achieve better foot function and reduce any excessive forces that lead to foot injury.

Appointments and Enquires

Please get in touch using the enquiry form, or call +44 (0)208 985 2536