Gait Analysis and Running Shops (Mid-Atlantic)

Running stores are only looking to see if you over or under pronate to put you in a neutral or stability shoe.

There is really no good reason to have a true gait analysis done. What would you do with the info?

Stop making running difficult and just run.

I doubt Emil Zatopek had a gait analysis. Feel free to insert any other runner in that spot.

Why don't you ask them for the science (meaning research) backing up what they're doing? And then google the answer on your smartphone before buying.

Note that a quote from a doctor, or a famous runner, or a shoe company, without any research references, is not "science."

> Or should one take the cynical view that such an analysis is simply a

> marketing ploy?

That's my view. I would say it is "factual" rather than "cynical." I also think that the people in the store probably believe in what they're doing - they're not knowingly lying to you. So be gentle.

I guess the use would be to find a shoe that is so efficient and smooth (based on the way it fits your own style) that you conserve more energy while racing or to reduce injury while training.

The threat is that you'd have a placebo effect then realize your shoes actually screwed you up more.

gait analysis could be very useful if you do it barefoot and they let you keep the video. Make sure they get side shots, from the back, and the front. Then you can see what your body is doing and become more aware of it. There is definitely nothing wrong with being aware of your habits.

Are you willing to pay? University of Virginia has a "Speed Lab". Here is a video on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De5sM3hldL0

http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/clinical/departments/physical-medicine-rehabilitation/the-speed-clinic/pricing.html

I won a gift card at a small local race 5k a couple years ago for a shoe store in a wealthy suburb in the Boston area that included a gait analysis. Basically the store employee watched as I ran a few strides barefoot across the store, said I had unusually floppy ankles and low arches and suggested a mid stability shoe.

Gait analysis by videotape would be kind of cool, although I'm not sure how useful it would be. Sometimes artificially changing form can cause injuries. I have read some study that said there was no real correlation between running form and speed, and there are definitely some elite runners with terrible form ( like Zatopek) and that most elite runners are actually quite asymetric, often lifting one foot 5 cm and the other foot 7 cm.

It depends on how much it costs and whether the benefits are worth the costs.

Consider the worst case scenario. You pay a substantial amount of money, then get told stuff you already know or things that are don't really open up opportunities to improve performance.