Geelong podiatrists talk abut gait analysis

Gait is basically the way a person walks.   Podiatrists assess gait to observe how the body parts are moving.  An abnormal gait can lead to imbalances elsewhere in the body when moving.  Our Geelong podiatrists use gait analysis to study your biomechanics (how your body moves) and the effects on feet, hips, knees, lower back and limbs.  Gait analysis assists our Geelong podiatrists to make a diagnosis and prescribe evidence based treatments for your condition, which may be affecting your ability to walk or causing recurring pain.

Gait analysis tells our Geelong podiatrists a lot about your body and how you move. If you are presenting with lower limb or foot pain this could be related to the way you walk. You might be in-toeing (turning your feet inwards) or out-toeing (turning your feet outwards), and the compensation your muscles are making to stabilize your lower limbs may be the cause of your pain. Or perhaps your knees or hips turn in, which can affect the quality of your movement. It is important to note that compensations in the body can lead to imbalance around the joints and the main muscles – such as hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves. This means those areas may become less active and end up contributing less than they should. A gait analysis will reveal such issues.

Our Geelong podiatrists don’t just study your feet during a gait analysis, they will be observing your hips, knees, arm swing, shoulders and head tilt. Our Geelong podiatrists will ask you to stand, walk and maybe run along a normal floor and record their observations.  Once our Geelong podiatrists have assessed you, they can then prescribe necessary treatments and exercises to address your condition. If you are experiencing foot or lower limb pain please contact us.