There are a lot of reasons you should get a running gait analysis (RGA). Some of them are very necessary. And some are just a distraction.

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We made this simple infographic so you can understand when it is truly necessary. 

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Reasonably so there are a lot of reasons people ask for a RGA. Something feels “off”, pain starts to surface at the end of long runs, or maybe you notice a set back in your pace over the last few workouts. Sometimes it’s not always easy to know what the cause or solution is so getting an assessment done is rationally the next step in the decision making process. However, sometimes having extra data and information can not only muddy the waters but seriously distract you from refocusing organization around your training and recovery plan.

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For this reason we have 3 primary questions that we need to answer & 1 secondary that may just be your intuition speaking, but more about that later. 

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As an outline for this blog, the priorities that we must uncover are:

1. The forces at play that are contributing to your injury/pain
2. What is causing a decline in your running efficiency 
3. What’s the best strategy for you to hit a specific goal or race if sudden changes have occurred
4. The source of gut feelings when something “feels off” when you run.

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Let’s start with the presence of pain or an injury impacting your running capability. This could technically be broken up into 2 parts. 

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Part 1 would be someone who is actively running but has pain during or after their run. This person may be able to complete anywhere between 3-10 miles but pain becomes a serious factor in their efficiency, pace and overall running quality. This is an example of someone who would benefit from a Running Gait Analysis. In most cases there are clear solutions to a mechanical problem. Pain that occurs isolated around running can more than likely change with improved running form, technique, improved mobility and strength or a combination of all. We can also better plan workouts to compliment your style of running and overcome this injury.

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Part 2 would be an injury that likely occurred due to running and now your ability to run is severely impacted. These individuals may even have pain with walking and day to day activities but somehow manage ways to run through it. A Running Gait Analysis could be beneficial here if we are in a sweet spot of the timing from when these painful symptoms occurred. If this is a relatively acute problem we can catch this before it snowballs into something worse. If this has been going on for weeks/months/years we may need additional assessments, a referral to another practitioner or a more serious conversation about modifying your current training plan. 

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There is the chance that in part 1 or 2 a serious injury is lurking in the background like a Bone Stress Injury/Fracture. These should not be taken lightly and ultimately a RGA would not be appropriate. But a running expert would be able to spot the signs and symptoms associated with these injuries to tell you what steps you should take next. You may not like an answer that comes with significantly less running or no running at all. But these conversations could save you from potentially months to a year off from running because you let an injury progress too far and now you’re only focused on how to use crutches.

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Let’s face it, pain during running or afterwards is no fun! The sooner you can make adjustments the better you will have long term solutions to keeping you “on the run”. Seeing an expert who has helped individuals through injuries and back to continuous running is your best scenario to get the help you need while still maintaining some normalcy with your current running.

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So what if I have no pain at all?

Some runners see us because of a noticeable drop off in their efficiency, speed, duration or some combination of the three. 

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“My legs feel heavy.” 

“I just feel like my posture is suffering towards the end of the race and I want to finish strong!”. 

“I have been losing speed over the last year”. 

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All of these are examples of performance declining. There can be many reasons why performance suffers and a lot of that can be uncovered through a conversation about certain principles such as intensity of training, recovery techniques and presence OR absence of a strength training routine. A good process for determining if a RGA would be beneficial is to determine how long this decline has been occurring. 

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Short term performance declines can happen if you’ve had changes in your work-life balance, sleeping patterns, fluctuations in your hormonal levels (irregular menstrual cycles or decreased libido) or dietary changes. Now although these incidents are not normal in their isolated events, the timing to rebound from one of these scenarios is important.

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Periods of a 4 week short-term decline in running performance have shown loss of maximal oxygen uptake, reduced cardiac output, reduced endurance performance, reduced cross-sectional muscle fibers, and a reversal in short-term fluid-electrolyte regulating hormones(1). Because these changes can take time for the body to adapt, we would rather be ahead of this curve and start having a discussion after 2 weeks. 

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If it has been less than two weeks then chances are you may be experiencing an isolated blip in the radar. It may be good to double down on some recovery techniques and try taking a short break to recalibrate. Muscular fatigue associated with over-training alone can be responsible for significant changes in speed and tolerance to higher volume of mileage and duration of long runs. 

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Trail drain (running the same trail/route over and over), lack of motivation and an inconsistent routine can all contribute to feelings of declining performance as well. It is important to note that these scenarios could be linked to something deeper to work on if these events tend to happen cyclically or often in a year. No matter what kind of “funk” you find yourself in - if it is shorter than 2 weeks a gait analysis is not going to be very beneficial. 

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However if this has been going on for more than 2 weeks it would be wise to speak with a professional and consider looking at your capabilities more in depth. A RGA still may not be the most necessary but the movement tests associated with it and the questions about your training could uncover some leaky holes.

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What if my performance has declined and I have an important race coming up?

Similar to the last scenario there could be a number of reasons your running tolerance has changed. But looking to uncover that with a RGA really close to your race could be more harmful. The expression “opening a can of worms” is true here as the information associated with this RGA could make you feel more unsettled about your race. 

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This scenario could make you adjust your expectations for your race, change the plan entirely (by dropping out) or accept your current circumstances and try to make the most of a performance decline around race day. Having this internal dialogue may actually be helpful to answer your own questions about what to do on race day. 

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However if you have a considerable amount of time between your performance decline and when your race is, then getting a RGA could certainly help you adjust your form and your training so you can bounce back. 

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Timing is everything though in this scenario. Since it takes most runners a minimum of 4-6 weeks to adapt to new training loads, we should expect a similar outcome when it comes to changing or adjusting your style of running(2).  As you change your form you are effectively redirecting the loads on your body which will impact the use of your musculoskeletal system. This change in your running function would not be recommended if you have a race coming up in 2 weeks or less since the effort of making that change may cause more stress. 

If this is a race of low priority to you, then you may surprise yourself during the race by taking a different approach and simply enjoying being there. It could also be useful information to speak with an expert after the race to come up with a better strategy instead of forcing more stress and inputs on your plate so close to a race performance. 

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Now there is no substitute for a gut feeling. As a firm believer in trusting your intuition, if something feels off and you are still unsure about what to do, it would make sense to speak with an expert about this matter. 

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Most practitioners who work with runners would be happy to speak about your decisions and align the most practical and safe method to your goals.

For example, we always offer a totally free 20-minute Discovery Call to discuss these options.

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It is important to mention that a RGA is just the tip of the iceberg. No runner is perfect, no matter how elite. So finding an inefficiency may be easy but piecing together the puzzle of what to do with that information is not. As someone who specializes in this process, it takes a significant amount of investigative work to uncover all the elements that are playing a role in your current situation. 

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Humans are complex and although this decision making tree is meant to simplify the process sometimes it’s not simple at all. But that is what is so beautiful about the process of addressing movement issues in the body. 

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We all have our unique signatures to how we move our body. Even though there are similar patterns to understanding how to manage the forces of movements like running, the puzzle must align with your style. It ultimately comes down to how YOU manage those forces. And every day that you do, it is either pushing the needle slightly forward, keeping it stuck in place or pulling it backwards. 

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If you need more guidance to push the needle forward, use this decision making tree to determine if it is the right time to get a Running Gait Analysis. 

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References:

1. Detraining: loss of training-induced physiological and performance adaptations. Part I: short term insufficient training stimulus.
2. How does high-intensity intermittent training affect recreational endurance runners? Acute and chronic adaptations: A systematic review