What is the difference between a walking analysis and a running analysis? If you're a runner, chances are you've heard of it. If you are pounding the sidewalk in a favorite pair of running shoes, you might not have thought about whether they are the right ones. If your shoes are designed to run in a way that doesn't fit your stride, you could be putting yourself at risk of injury.

It is important to get the right running shoe for your running style. It's possible to improve your performance by getting a shoe to match that motion.

What is the purpose of the analysis? All the way to finding out more about your stride to boost your running prowess are some of the questions we'll cover.

  • Related: Best running shoes for supination (opens in new tab)

What is gait analysis?

What is gait analysis? Image of running shoes on treadmill

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Christian Allen is a product trainer at Runner's Need. Gauging is a way of helping to determine which running shoe is best for you by running on a treadmill for about 30 seconds.

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The expert will play the footage back slowly, often frame-by- frame. This will show you how your feet move while you run. The experts take into consideration your running goals, and any previous injuries, to pick the correct type of shoe for you.

What is gait analysis? image of runner's feet on treadmill

(Image credit: Getty)

To find a shoe that improves your running performance by making you faster and conserve energy while you run, and to find a shoe to help prevent injury, is one of the purposes of gat analysis.

Both of the two are connected. The focus of a gait analysis may be more on selecting the footwear that will meet a runner's performance needs.

If injury prevention allows the runner to progress through their training program without taking time away from running, then it's an improvement.

Finding the right shoe can help boost performance. It's possible to offset imbalances in your run with a running shoe that has the right part of the foot. People who run with a forefoot strike have a higher chance of slipping and falling. The right shoe can help prevent this from happening and teach you how to run correctly.

What is gait analysis? Image of legs running up stairs

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Where is gait analysis done?

It's best to do gat analysis in a store. A runner can go to a specialist running store and get a gait analysis as part of a footwear purchase. The sales associate will be looking for any obvious running form characteristics that might influence the choice of footwear.

The most effective way to do a gait analysis is to go to a specialist running store. It is possible that your results in this area will be different if you conduct a gait analysis yourself with your phone.

What are the different kinds of ‘gait’?

Woman running on treadmill

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Foot strike, under-pronation, over-pronation, and impact force are some of the aspects of running form that will be considered. The most appropriate choice of footwear would be determined with the help of these aspects and some static foot shape and posture measurements.

Your foot strikes the ground first. The neutral midfoot makes other runners more likely to strike with the forefoot or heels.

The way your foot rolls is referred to as pronation. Supination is when a runner hits the ground at a high angle with little-to-no rolling of the foot, causing a large amount of shock in the lower leg. The right running shoe for under-pronators should have firm support in this part of the foot to counteract the risk of injury.

  • Related: Supination vs pronation

Roll the foot too much, hitting the ground with the inside of your foot first, also known as "flat feet", is what over-pronators do. The over-pronator shoes have to be flexible to protect the feet.

If you hit the ground lightly or hard, impact force will determine how much cushion your shoe needs. A good running expert will be able to come up with shoe options for your budget.

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