Gait analysis, as waste of time?

As title, never bothered with it myself and can't see the point.

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Comments

  • a waste of time (fat fingers)

  • Ian MIan M ✭✭✭

    It's a great sales gimmick.

     

  • Might be good for examining and improving your running style. None of us see what everyone else does. 

  • Not to be confused with the nonsense they do in shops to sell you shoes

  • Useful for some, useless for others.

  • I would like a £1 for every time someone is told they 'over pronate'

     

  • I'm not saying it's the be-all and end-all, but what is a better way of getting the correct shoes then?

  • I asked some Adidas employees and apparently my feet are suited to Adidas, who would have thought .......

    All employees are out to sell you the shoes which give them the biggest commission. 

     

  • How about, useless for all and perceived to be useful by some. 

    Best way to get shoes is having the right fit and they feel nice. Don't get barefoot(rip off) don't go for the super motion controlled shoes(too heavy) Go for a nice comfy neutral shoe, quite light and a sole that isn't too stiff. 

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Get your running form sorted and there will be no need for it.

    Rather than address the root cause of the problem shops like to flog you stuff that just treats the symptoms and keep you coming back every 6 months.
  • It was useful for me. Showed me where I was putting a lot of stress through my right inside knee, and some restricted movement in my right hamstring / lower back which I went on to 'fix'. Also got a recommendation on a shoe (not that the place sold trainers)

    Not really bothered with them in shops. I did get one in an Asics store once and the shoes being recommended were a bizarre selection.

  • As I tried to say earlier. The difference from a real gait analysis and what they do in a shop is vast. One is a useful tool to fix a biomechanical problem and one is a marketing tool. 

  • Your best chance of getting satisfactory results as a novice runner, is to go to a shop that offers gait analysis, combined with a 30 day returns policy. 

    If people pick a shoe without the proper advice, then some will get away with it, and others will find that they have spent £80 on a completely unusable shoe.  Any shoe is expensive if it doesn’t work, and you end up having to go back and get another pair.  A lot of people learn this the hard way. 

    The fact that shops offering a 30 day return policy are still in business, means that they must get it right far more often than they do not.  If they get it wrong they will typically make a loss on the sale, but your backside will be covered. 

    It is that simple. 

  • Have you not been listening Ben. Gait analysis is neither here nor there. A 30 day returns policy is worth something and gait analysis is a con. Novice runner or a pro you still want a good shoe and not be duped. If any shoe, correctly fitted is okay then as long as the size is right there would be no need to return a shoe.

    More simple than YOU think.

  • The Grinch wrote (see)

    Have you not been listening Ben. Gait analysis is neither here nor there. A 30 day returns policy is worth something and gait analysis is a con. Novice runner or a pro you still want a good shoe and not be duped. If any shoe, correctly fitted is okay then as long as the size is right there would be no need to return a shoe.

    More simple than YOU think.

    I can assure you that it is not that simple.

    There are plenty of runners who buy shoes that fit correctly, that go on to have problems with them.

    If you think it is just a matter of finding a shoe that fits correctly, then you are sorely mistaken.

    It is not that I have not been listening to your comments about gait analysis being a con, it is more that I don't agree with them.

    Even if it is, you sure as hell won't find a shop that will offer a 30 day return policy without giving you a gait analysis.

  • I'd say it helped me.  I could see a problem on the video.  A twisting motion in the shin that's vulnerable to shin splints.  I could see that the twisting disappeared with mildly supporting shoes.... and apparently that twisting is accommodated somewhere in my body that's a little more robust, because I'm pretty much injury free.

    Of course, I can't be certain that I couldn't have picked up any old pair of comfy shoes and been trouble free.... because I haven't done a scientific test with dozens of shoes.  But I certainly believe there's value in it.

    I fully accept the anecdotal evidence that it isn't for everyone though.

  • If the 30 day returns policy is The Sweatshop one then it isn't dependant on a gait analysis. It is a very generous policy and goes far beyond basic consumer rights. The strategy would be that the policy will attract more people to buy from there against the people who are going to take stuff back. Same strategy that has worked at M&S for years. 

  • There's often some confusion about the Sweatshop 30 day policy. It is a 30 exchange and not a 30 day money back policy. Still a good deal though.

  • I need to stop saying gait analysis is a con. It isn't. The thing they do in shops, that they call gait analysis, is. Look up gait analysis on wikipedia and it's far removed from what you see in a running shop.

  • ^^ +1 The Grinch ^^

    My only addition is that gait analysis should be done outside, rather than on the treadmill as no-one runs with the same technique and stride pattern on a treadmill.

    Unless (I guess) you know you will do 100% of your running on a treadmill, then it may make more sense...

  • I've had numerous shoes that fit well and feel comfy, yet have given me problems. I've done numerous assessments to ensure my running form is as good as it can be, yet I've still had problems. I've had less problems when getting shoes after gait analysis.

    Gait analysis is not totally accurate but I do feel it can be a useful guide, so get frustrated when people make such sweeping generalisations that it's a con.

  • Why don't they call it footfall analysis. Since it isn't gait analysis.

  • A couple of points have to be made.  

    While more research is needed on gait analysis, we at least have to acknowledge that its key advocates in the industry are sincere.  Sweatshop invest an enormous amount of money on training their staff to do gait analysis.  Their full time staff do three courses in Biomechanics at RoehamptonUniversity, with all travel, accommodation and fees paid by the company.  If they manifestly believed that they were selling snake oil, then they would simply train the staff sales techniques in shop for a fraction of the cost. 

    I worked for Sweatshop two years ago, so my information might be out of date. 

    The 30day return policy allows you to run in a pair of shoes for 30 days, and if they don’t work out in that period, you get to exchange them for a pair of equal value or pay the difference.  I was however instructed to give people their money back if I could not find a shoe that worked, or if I thought it was necessary to insure fairness for the customer. 

    Trade price for a pair of running shoes is approximately half or recommended retail price, so a pair that costs £80 at rrp would likely cost Sweatshop £40, and give them a £40mark up.  If a customer returns a pair of shoes under the 30 day return scheme, then they effectively charge the customer £80 and loose two pairs of shoes worth £40.  In other words, the best they can hope for is to break even.  If the shoes were sold at a reduction in the sale, or if the customer comes back for a third pair, then Sweatshop make a loss on the transaction.  It is only fair to say that the 30 day scheme is a pretty strong statement of confidence in their system. 

  • It isn't gait analysis. You don't even know what gait analysis is do you Ben? It isn't videoing  a foot dropping on a treadmill. 

  • Do you ever read what other people post Ben? Bloody Hell!

  • The Grinch wrote (see)

    It isn't gait analysis. You don't even know what gait analysis is do you Ben? It isn't videoing  a foot dropping on a treadmill. 

    Thank you, I know exactly what gait analysis is. 

    I would venture to say much better than you do. 

    The fact that you think that what running shops do is not gait analysis, suggests that you perhaps do not understand exactly what they do. 

    It is not the foot that you are looking at. 

  • The Grinch wrote (see)

    Do you ever read what other people post Ben? Bloody Hell!

    I read what people write very carefully, but please do not assume that I will find what you write exceptionally profound. 

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Ben, did Sweatshop make you try and sell the orthotic things to every customer?
  • Millsy1977 wrote (see)
    Ben, did Sweatshop make you try and sell the orthotic things to every customer?

    That was coming in as I left. 

    It got a bit silly!

     

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