Gait Analysis in Corsham

Whether you are experiencing pain when walking or running, struggling with a recurring injury, or simply want to understand more about the way you move, gait analysis can help identify factors that may be contributing.

At Corsham Physiotherapy, we combine physiotherapy assessment with specialist pressure-plate technology to analyse how you stand, walk and run. This allows us to look in detail at your foot mechanics, pressure distribution and movement patterns and, importantly, decide what to do with that information.

Our clinic is based in Corsham and we regularly see patients from Chippenham and across North Wiltshire for gait analysis and running-related problems.

What can gait analysis help with?

Gait analysis can be useful if you:

• experience recurring foot, ankle, knee, hip or lower-limb pain
• develop pain when walking or running
• have repeated sports or running injuries
• are returning to activity following an injury
• are concerned about the way your feet move or load when you walk
• want to understand whether your biomechanics may be contributing to a problem
• would benefit from advice about footwear, exercises or orthotics.

You don’t need to be a runner or an athlete to benefit from gait analysis. We see people of all ages and activity levels who want to understand more about the way they move.

What happens during a gait analysis?

Your appointment starts with a physiotherapy assessment and a discussion about why you have come for gait analysis. This might be because of pain or injury, a recurring problem, or because you want to understand more about your walking or running mechanics.

We can then use our pressure-analysis system to assess your static stance and balance and your dynamic gait.

Thousands of sensors within the pressure plate record how pressure moves through your feet as you stand, walk or run. The results provide visual information about areas of loading, pressure distribution and aspects of your foot mechanics that cannot be assessed accurately by observation alone.

We will explain the findings to you and discuss whether they appear relevant to your symptoms or goals.

What happens after the assessment?

Gait analysis isn’t simply about producing a report. Once we have assessed how you move, we can discuss what, if anything, needs to change.

Depending on your findings, this might include:

• specific exercises to improve strength, control or mobility
• advice about activity or training
• physiotherapy treatment where appropriate
• footwear advice
• bespoke orthotics where these are indicated.

Not everyone who has gait analysis will need orthotics. Where they are appropriate, the information from your assessment can be used to produce individually designed 3D-printed orthotics.

Gait Analysis for Runners

Gait analysis can also form part of the assessment of running-related pain and recurring injuries.

If you are experiencing problems such as recurring knee, shin, ankle or foot pain when running, looking at your gait may help us understand whether movement or loading patterns are contributing.

However, gait is only one part of the picture. Strength, mobility, training load, previous injury and other factors may also be relevant. A physiotherapy assessment allows us to consider these alongside the gait-analysis findings rather than looking at your running pattern in isolation.

Why do we use pressure plate gait analysis?

Our pressure-analysis system uses thousands of sensors to measure how pressure is distributed through your feet as you stand and move.

This provides objective information that complements the physiotherapist’s clinical assessment and allows both you and your physiotherapist to see your pressure and loading patterns visually.

We can use the findings alongside your symptoms, physical assessment and activity goals to help decide whether treatment, rehabilitation, footwear advice or orthotics may be appropriate.

Walking & running in a natural environment

Our pressure plate allows us to assess pressure and loading as you move across the plate, rather than relying solely on observation. This provides objective information about how your feet interact with the ground during movement.

Book a Gait Analysis

If you are experiencing pain when walking or running, have a recurring lower-limb problem or would simply like to understand more about the way you move, you can book a gait analysis with us.

Call 01249 712288, email us at hello@corshamphysiotherapy.co.uk or book online

Our clinic is in Corsham, Wiltshire, and is easily accessible from Chippenham, Melksham, Bath and the surrounding area.