Have you ever wondered if you are running efficiently? Could you run faster just by changing your form a bit? Do you have a reoccurring injury and just can’t seem to explain it?

I was a bit curious of these questions and on Saturday I visited a Koala Health & Wellness Center and had a gait analysis performed. This basically consisted of running on a treadmill at a moderate pace while two cameras (one at my side and one behind me) recorded my every stride.

We then sat and went through the footage in slow motion addressing my running form from head to feet.

What did I learn?

Surprisingly, most of my running form looked fairly good and textbook. Boring! I guess that is kind of nice to hear but I was looking for some drama. What is wrong with me? Fix me doc!

Now the good stuff.

Issue #1 - Wrists slightly twisted inwards while I run

How does this little nuance affect your running? Well, your elbows will bow out a bit more and your arms will move across your body which is a bit less efficient when you are trying to move your body in a forward direction. The second note-worthy and maybe even more important item is that tension is increased in your shoulders.

When I ran with my wrists in a more vertical position, my elbows moved closer to my body and arms moved in more of a forward-backwards motion. Plus my shoulders felt much more relaxed. The feeling is almost immediate. Over the distance of a marathon or longer, I would think this could have a huge impact. Cool stuff!

Issue #2 - Right heal consistently finished higher than left heal

What does this tell me? A fare probability that my right hamstring is stronger than my left. Muscle imbalance.

Issue #3 - Right foot extends farther back than left foot

What does this tell me? A fare probability that my right quad is stronger than my left. Muscle imbalance.

The Next Step

Issue #1 is addressed with some awareness on my part. Issue #2 and #3 are going to be further validated with a 45 minute muscle testing session which will test the entire body for muscle imbalances and from those results a training program will be created to balance and strengthen my weaknesses. I may even turn into a superhero, who knows.

An interesting side note is that periodically I have issues with my left knee. So I wonder if the muscle imbalance is the culprit for this pesky tweak?

When it is all said and done, will I run any faster? That probably will be hard to validate unless I suddenly start running 5:00 min/miles for my easy runs - won’t happen!

But…

Is moving your arms mostly in the desired direction of movement a good thing? I think yes.

Are relaxed shoulders a good thing? I think yes.

Are balanced muscles a good thing? I think yes.

I must say I really liked the gait analysis experience and even learned a few things. I will let you know the outcome of the muscle testing in the coming weeks.

It also would be interesting to observe my characteristics at various effort levels (easy, moderate, hard) and check for any differences. Maybe down the road, I will give that a try.

For those that have had a gait analysis, how was your experience? What did you learn?

Happy Training!

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