What is a ‘biomechanical assessment’ for the lower limb?

What happens during a Biomechanical Assessment?
During a biomechanical assessment we examine your gait, (the way you walk). From this we determine if your gait is within normal range. An abnormal gait can give you symptomatic pain and pathologies in the lower limb (hip, knee and foot).
The reasons for an abnormal gait could include the following;
45 Leg length discrepancy (when one leg is longer than the other)
46 Alignment issues in your foot, which may have a knock on effect in the rest of your lower limb, for example your knee caps. Also alignment issues give rise to €˜compensatory€™ mechanisms when you walk €“ of which podiatrists will pick up upon.
47 Trauma to either the hip, knee, leg and foot
48 Muscular contraction €“ tightening of the muscles
49 Hyper-mobility €“ excessive movement within a joint
Also during an assessment we investigate:
21 Your general health and lifestyle
22 The type of footwear you most often wear
23 The range of motion in all your major joints within the foot and ankle
24 Muscular strength
25 The positioning of the foot and ankle when non weight bearing and weight bearing
Once we have examined all the above areas then we will devise a treatment plan to help improve your gait, based on our findings.
The only thing that we want from you is€¦
• Preferably to wear an item of clothing that will give the Podiatrist a view of the knee caps. Such as: shorts, a skirt or trousers/pants that will roll up past the knee caps.
• And of course yourself!
Contact us on 04 3435390 for a convenient appointment!