Yesterday we had a fantastic and enjoyable time @#Runfesttheseries, listening to inspirational stories of ultra marathon running, a cookery demonstration, nutritional talks and a great talk about the Importance of Gait Analysis. I think it was good,,,,,,,but I wasn't really listening to the talk on gait ............................largely because I was delivering it 🤣.
Now we have blogged about gait analysis on several occasions previously, but last night during the talk there was one reaction from the assembled crowd that stood out more than any other and that reaction was to a single point that I feel is worth re highlighting in this blog.
Suddenly, previously attentive faces were no longer looking at me!............they were all looking down at their own feet....oh no!!! Was my talk that awful that they were hanging their heads, then I noticed they were all contorting themselves into a position which, if they had of continued would have had each of their feet in their mouths. They were all suddenly, at once, right in the middle of my carefully crafted talk checking the soles of there shoes🤣.....why?
Well, of all the points covered about reading the wear pattern on your shoes (all of which can be googled easily), this is the one that got them all looking:
'Is the amount and pattern of wear on the sole of your show even left and right?'
I had billed this on a slide as 'The Most Important Wear Pattern Ever!'
The reason I had billed it as this in such a way and the reason that I want to re highlight it, is that this really does take precedence over wether you under pronate, over pronate, heel or mid-foot strike, but why?
Because if the shape or degree of wear is different left or right it simply means; you are favouring one leg! Well, if that's the case, sooner or later you will end up with an overuse injury anywhere from the foot to the shoulder and that doesn't just occur in runners, it occurs in anyone who enjoys being active.
We are naturally left or right handed and for fine skills tend to favour either our left or right, but we are NOT left or right legged when it comes to gait, we are simply not designed that way. If we were we would ultimately walk in a circle and if you tried to break that circle by walking forward instead, against all the forces that wanted you to go in a circle, something would eventually hurt. Uneven loading always leads to injury.
So have a go at being a contortionist your self and have a look at the bottom of your shoes, even better............ take them off and look 🤣. If that wear is uneven, you quite simply need to seek help. before something goes wrong.
This is the one thing I cant write a general self diagnosis tool, as unequal loading actually does require a third party to apply lots of tests and observation to establish the cause.
Of course thats is something we 100% specialise in here at the Reinge Clinic 😀