Bio Mechanical Assessment.
I always recommend to my athletes that they go for a bio mechanical assessment. Although not every runner does this, I always believe that it is a great plan of action. If you do it early in your running career it may help prevent many injuries that you would of got had you not had one. It can also really help with general running form. Bio mechanical assessments will determine weather or not orthotics (or orthoses as they are otherwise known) would be beneficial to you. I myself have poor arches and due to an in balance in my pelvis my orthotics have really helped with my form and strike. Previous to wearing them I had continuous injury problems and general tightness issues which improved shortly after wearing them. Having an assessment also means that you can obtain a very useful list of the shoes that are right for you. To many runners use the wrong shoes for a long time without even knowing it ! (Running shops will often make poor judgements with their treadmill assessments, I always advise runners to go to a physio that specialise in bio mechanical assessments).
Another good tip is to vary the shoes that you use. As Paula Radcliffe describes in her book, change is good for your feet as it stimulates them to get stronger. Your feet and leg muscles will work slightly differently in each style of shoe, so by changing regularly you stop your feet becoming lazy or dangerously adapted to one particular shoe. (If the shoe is suddenly discontinued, you are also in trouble!) However, always make sure each shoe is the right shoe. For example, I always use a neutral pair with a low offset, after my assessment I realised that these were the best for me.
So if you are new to running its a really good idea to seek out a local biomechanist, especially if you over pronate or supinate. Although it can be an expensive option you usually only need to do it once!
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