top of page
Search

What is Gait Analysis? How Your Walking Style Affects Your Knees and Back.

  • Writer: Peter Crompton
    Peter Crompton
  • Mar 28
  • 2 min read

It’s Not Just About Your Feet


When you walk, your feet are the foundation of a complex kinetic chain. If that foundation is slightly "off," it doesn't just stay in your feet. The misalignment travels up to your ankles, rotates your shins, puts pressure on your knees, and can even tilt your pelvis, leading to chronic lower back pain.


At Total Health Care, we often find that a patient's persistent hip or knee issue actually started months ago with a subtle change in how their feet hit the pavement.


What Actually Happens During Gait Analysis?


Many people think "Gait Analysis" is just running on a treadmill at a shoe shop. In a clinical setting at our Bolton or Leeds clinics, it is much more comprehensive.

We look at:

  1. Static Assessment: How you stand. Are your arches collapsing? Is one hip higher than the other?

  2. Digitsole—the world's first connected, AI-powered insoles using high-tech inertial sensors tucked inside your shoes to measure your movement in 3D.

  3. Pressure Points: Identifying where you are putting too much weight, which often explains why you get recurring corns or calluses in the same spot.


3 Signs You Need a Professional Gait Analysis


  • Uneven Shoe Wear: Look at the soles of your old trainers. Is one side worn down to the foam while the other looks brand new?

  • The "One-Sided" Pain: Do you always get a "niggle" in your right knee or left hip, but never the other side?

  • Flat Feet or High Arches: If your feet look very flat or excessively arched when standing, your mechanics are likely strained.


How We Fix It


Once we identify the "glitch" in your gait, we don't just tell you what's wrong—we provide the solution. This might involve:


  • Specific Strengthening Exercises: To support weak muscles.

  • Footwear Recommendations: Matching the shoe to your specific foot type.

  • Custom Orthotics: Bespoke insoles designed to realign your kinetic chain.


Stop Guessing, Start Measuring


Whether you are training for a 10k in Leeds or just want to walk the dog around Bolton without hip pain, understanding your gait is the first step.


Book your Biomechanical Assessment at Total Health Care today.

👉 Booking Page 📞 Call our team: 0113 345 4260 or 01204 705055

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page