The Sportsphysio injury clinic provides gait analysis and biomechanical assessment in Cumbria and South Scotland.

We believe that a skilled practitioner is essential when it comes to analysing the foot and its actions. Most problems are not limited to simple pronation or supination of the foot.

A gait problem may lie with other structures of the body and a thorough, skillful assessment of your biomechanics, including foot, lower limb and spine is our standard approach.  For this reason, we prefer to use the term biomechanical assessment, of which gait analysis is only an element.

The outcome of the assessment will let us know where the problem lies. This will open up various treatment pathways, adapting them to find the right combination for you.

• Some problems can be rectified with manipulation, adjustment and exercise programmes.
• Core strength training can improve posture, leading to a more efficient gait (walking pattern).
• Orthotics and specific exercises can be used to correct problems with the foot itself.

Why we are different

The Sportsphysio.com takes great pride in being one of a very few clinics to look comprehensively at the body as a whole, allowing you to obtain your very own “blueprint” of how your body’s biomechanics affect your sport and every day activity.

This profile allows you to understand your posture, technique, range of movement and flexibility.

Advice on how to utilise this and adapt where necessary, reduces unnecessary strain on soft tissues and joints and helps prevent injury.  Your agility, performance and personal best can be greatly improved.

• Independent – The Sportsphysio gait analysis and video capture systems are our own. We do not tie ourselves to orthotics or footwear manufacturers and as a result feel that we offer a completely unbiased, professional service based on sound science and clinical based evidence.
• Skill- We have an in depth knowledge of the body’s mechanics and the physical and mathematical processes involved in measuring it’s movement.
• Open minded – Biomechanical or gait problems can have many causes, not all of which can be solved by orthotics.  Our thorough assessment allows us to determine the best advice or treatment approach for you.
• Flexible – When orthotics are required, The Sportsphysio practitioners have access to a number of quality suppliers and specialist orthotists, to allow us to achieve your perfect orthoses.
• Adaptable – We know that every body is different, so we will never use a “one style fits all” approach.  Instead we can help you get the best from what nature has given you, fine tuning each individual.

The Sportsphysio biomechanics assessment

A typical biomechanics assessment at The Sportsphysio clinic will take into account any problems you may be experiencing, your activity and aspirations.  Our comprehensive assessment includes:

• Full postural analysis
• Joint and muscle function tests
• Comprehensive assessment of your foot function
• Pressure measurement of your active foot
• Video analysis

Who is biomechanical and gait analysis suitable for?

We work with elite and amateur sportsmen and women to help improve performance and reduce injury risk, but anybody who experiences mechanical back pain, hip, knee, ankle or foot problems can also be greatly helped by analysing the body’s biomechanics and gait.

Buy Securely Online

You can even buy your Biomechanics Assessment voucher online for yourself or possibly to treat a friend for Christmas or their birthday.  Your voucher will be e.mailed to you and all you need to do is call us to arrange your appointment.

The Sportsphysio.com provide custom built orthotics for your ski boots.

The majority of ski boots have a fairly neutral footbed but not everybody has a neutral foot.

Custom built ski orthotics can help you get the best from your boots

When your feet are correctly aligned within your ski-boots, you will be better able to regulate your balance, distribute your weight evenly and have greater control of your skis.  This can result in a dramatic improvement in your skiing.

Muscular or skeletal imbalances which may not be noticeable when walking, become amplified when skiing.  The smallest movement from a leg, pelvis or spine will have a great impact on the position of your skis, often requiring large corrections by the body, resulting in unnecessary and awkward movements from the torso, shoulders and arms in order to maintain balance.

Poor foot/ski alignment places greater strain on the ligaments of the knee, the hip and lower spine.  Correcting the alignment reduces this strain and reduces the risk of injury.  This is even more important in beginners who need to concentrate all of their efforts on technique.

Specific ski orthotics are designed to support the foot and control problems such as pronation and supination.

Why Ski orthotics?

People can be forgiven for thinking that if they wear orthotics in their every day shoes and trainers, these orthotics will just transfer to their ski boots.

Unfortunately this is not the case and doing so may cause more problems than you started with.

Normal orthotics or corrective insoles are designed for our  general, walking standing or running gait.  However, when we ski, the weight has to be perfectly balanced with the bulk of the body weight shifted to the midfoot.

Feet are fixed in one position on the skis and movement is now controlled by our body position, rather than through the foot.  The foot is a complex collection of joints which articulate in many directions to allow us to walk.  In skiing, this movement is superfluous and indeed annoying, as even the smallest motion becomes amplified when transmitted through the skis.

Ski orthotics can only be custom fitted, the wide variance in foot types combined with ski boots makes off the shelf orthotics useless for this application.

Other snow sports orthotics

The Sportsphysio.com can also custom fit specialist orthotics for snow boarders, ice hockey and ice skates.

The Sportsphysio.com Ski Boot Clinic - provides a skilled ski boot alignment service to help you avoid injury and get the best from your ski boots.

The Sportsphysio injury clinic specialises in gait analysis and biomechanics. Skilled thorough assessment is essential when treating gait problems, with every aspect of biomechanics taken into account from the foot to the spine.

The Foot Problem
As we walk, the foot strikes the ground slightly on the outer side of the heel.  Natural forces encourage the foot to roll inward slightly (pronate) before lifting off using the big toe as a lever. In effect, your foot acts like a spring.

In some feet, this leaning inward (pronation) of the midfoot and heel is excessive and causes strain to the joints and supporting ligaments of the foot.  Painful symptoms in the foot, lower leg and knee may develop with some of the worst cases causing pain in the lower back and loss of core stability. The “spring” effect of the foot is lost.

To prevent this from happening, the heel should remain vertical, the medial arch supported and pressure distributed evenly through the forefoot.

Of course, there are people who place too much pressure on the outside of the foot (Supination).  Although this is not as common, it can also cause foot pain and symptoms such as shin splints.

Many conditions such as heel pain, Metatarsalgia (pain under the toe joints) and Plantar Fasciitis are a sign that something may be wrong with the biomechanics of the foot.

The Solution
Sometimes the problem does not lie with the foot itself, so skillful analysis of your biomechanics, including foot, lower limb and back assessment is carried out.

Manipulation, adjustment and exercise programmes can help to rectify problems with the back or lower limb.

Core strength training can alter posture, leading to a more efficient gait (walking pattern).

Orthotics and specific exercises can be used to correct problems with the foot itself.

Prescriptive Orthotics
There are many types of orthotics (specially designed shoe inserts) on the market but where pain and dysfunction need to be rectified, the only solution is a custom build orthotic designed specifically for your foot.

We use high quality, state of the art materials which offer the opportunity to control foot posture and modify pressure distribution.

Orthotics can generally be custom built within a few days and you will be instructed as to their correct use to allow the body to adjust over a period of time.

Various type of orthotic are available depending on budget, from professionally tailored “ready to wear” right up to bespoke rightstride® D3D and RS devices, featuring the latest in EVA and  Co-polymer Carbon technology.

D3D Orthotics

D3D Sports/Active

The rightstride® D3D bespoke orthotics are produced in EVA.

This enables us to mix base and top material density creating support and comfort in one superb device.

These versatile devices have been PROVEN to remain effective in the harshest of environments as demonstrated by service men and women all over the world.

Neuropathic diabetic patients who require offloading of pressure also benefit from this unique orthotic with its amazing mix of material density.

RS Orthotics

Rs Marathon runner

The rightstride® RS bespoke orthotics are made in co-polymer carbon.

Ultra durable, with a blend of functional control and dynamic flexibility resulting in the shell flexing under loading while remaining semi rigid under normal load.

A solution to the most demanding fashion shoe is here in the fashion fit orthotic and rightstride® provide us with huge range of different devices from the classic to the summer and winter Sports activities.

RSscan Lab’s advanced foot scanning systems and foot plates give accurate gait analysis, foot pressure measurement that will help in foot pain treatment.