Gait Analysis

The right running shoes are the most important piece of equipment for any runner. Ultimately, a runners shoes are what protects them from the repeated impact of the foot striking the ground. They are responsible for protecting against potential twisting and shearing forces present when running. The risks of injury can be greatly reduced by choosing the right shoe to suit your running style or running gait.

Your footfall or running gait is one of the most important things about your running style or technique – a poor footfall can twist knees and hips out of alignment and create problems anywhere from the foot to the hips and up the spine. It is the cause of many common running injuries. A bare foot footprint can reveal much about your running gait.

Normal (Medium) Arch : If you see a normal arch it means that you a probably a neutral runner and are a normal pronater. As a normal pronater you should really go for a neutral shoe or a neutral cushioned shoe, as a stability shoe could hurt your arches and cause injury in the future.

Flat (Low) Arch : If you see nearly your whole footprint it probably means that your flat footed and are most likely to be an over pronater or commonly known as over pronation. This means that when you take a step your arch collapses inward too much. The best shoe for you would be a high stability shoe or a motion control shoe which would support the arch in your foot helping you run more efficiantly.

High Arch : If you can only see the heel and the ball of your foot it means that you are the least common foot type and are a probably an under pronater or supinator. This means that the best shoe type for you would be a neutral cushioned shoe as it has more cushioning midsole to absorb the shock travelling up your leg where the arch of the foot cannot.

We provide a specialist service to all our customers at our Canterbury Store to determine their running gait or running style. This free service is an important tool in helping choose the correct shoe for each individual. Everybody has a unique combination of size, shape and weight. This leads to a variety of biomechanical differences in the way people run. In turn, there are numerous technologies and variation in the design of running shoes to support these running styles. It is easy to overlook the differences in running shoes without guidance. Determining which shoes work best for our customers is central to what we do at The Running Outlet. With the use of a treadmill and video gait analysis, we examine foot strike and gait, compare different models and manufacturers and assess which shoes are providing the best support and fit. As well as providing the technology to analyse runners and test shoes, we take time to listen to our customers, discuss their running history, current routines and goals. This is an integral part of determining the correct shoes for a customer, and allows our experienced staff to show what shoes will work best for you and why.

A highly effective and accurate way of determining your particular running motion is the ‘Wet Foot Test’, as illustrated above. This procedure works by placing your wet bare-foot on a dry tiled floor. The footprint you leave should resemble one of the images.

Below are some examples of running gaits, from our friends at Runners World and how to do the wet foot test.