GAIT & FOOTWEAR ANALYSIS

Mount Eliza & Mornington Peninsula Area

Have you heard that saying that if you wear a certain prescription of glasses, your eyesight will adjust to that prescription even if you have 20/20 vision?

It is not that your vision will change perhaps, but you will certainly have issues with the wrong prescription. But, this can be the same thing for footwear!

If you are wearing the wrong footwear for the support your foot needs, then you are only going to encourage problems to arise!

The foot is often thought to be the only part of the body a podiatrist deals with, but it is the whole lower limb of the leg that a podiatrist has a specialty, and your gait is one such function that will take into consideration your entire body to an extent and the forces it is exerting to the lower limb and foot.

Now, if you do need support for your footwear, this does not mean you have to wear uncool shoes, with all these braces and straps to support your foot!

You can adjust your own everyday shoes and sneakers with orthotic slips or choose the right style of shoe with the support you require within the brands you love with the extra knowledge of the arch support you need.

Below we will briefly overview the aspects of a Gait & Footwear Analysis at Step Ahead Podiatry.

Gait & Footwear Services AT sTEP aHEAD pODIATRY:

Gait Assessment
Footwear Analysis

We won’t make you wear these!

Gait Assessment

We perform a biomechanical assessment to test your range of motion and strength within joints to identify any possible contributing factors to existing pain or the potential for issues in the future.

Video Gait Analysis

We use advanced video technology to record and analyse our patient’s gait in detail. This process involves:

Walking or running on a treadmill equipped with cameras and sensors
Breaking down each second of the gait cycle into tiny segments for detailed assessment
Examining foot position, foot and leg function, and overall posture
Calculating kinematic angulations of the leg, ankle, and foot

This analysis helps diagnose complex motion-related problems of the foot, ankle, and leg.

We will then have this information to better assess your progress with new footwear and arch support in correcting your condition.

Footwear Analysis

Footwear analysis is an important aspect to help you select the most appropriate shoes for your feet in regard to differing circumstances of your daily activities.

We work with you in making sure that we understand the lifestyle you have and how that translates to the footwear you use, be it, regular workouts or long days at the office.

Here are some key aspects of footwear analysis:

Foot Type Analysis: The podiatrist evaluates the patient’s foot structure, including arch height, width, and overall shape.
Current Shoe Evaluation: Examining wear patterns and fit of the patient’s existing footwear.
Biomechanical Assessment: Not quite covered in gait evaluation, but correlated is a biomechanical assessment that can add further information on your muscle strength, flexibility, and overall lower limb function to better assess possible solutions for you.

Once we have the information we need, you will be amazed by the feeling of wearing the correct footwear in the right conditions. It really can be game-changing!