The aim is to determine whether the way you walk and run is contributing to your presenting complaint. Before getting started, your podiatrist will ask you questions about your problem, activity level, footwear and goals. The focus is on assessing the way you move but your podiatrist will also assess you while seated and standing.

Most people expect us to focus on the structure of their feet. While this may be relevant in some cases, it’s not the be-all and end-all. Gone are the days when we focused on classifying feet as normal, flat arched or high arched. This is very old school! We now focus on the way that you move — from your head to your toes.

Your podiatrist will observe you walking and running, and look for things that may have contributed too much load or stress to an injured structure. For example, landing on the ball of your foot while running increases the load or stress on the Achilles tendon. This may cause an injury and pain to develop. Your podiatrist may also identify inefficiencies in the way you move, which can have a significant effect on your performance. Put it this way — you’re not going to beat your 5km fun run personal best if you’re running technique is all over the shop.

Now, it’s pretty hard to explain to you what’s going on while you’re sweating over a treadmill. The last thing we want is for you to fall off! So, podiatrist will use either a video camera or Microsoft Surface Pro to record you. They can then slow the video down and point out things that may have contributed to the development of an injury or negatively affected performance. It’s fascinating watching the video!

We almost always identify something you can work on to overcome an injury or achieve your goals. This is when the hard work begins! You may be advised to:

• Change your walking or running technique
• Complete stretching and strengthening exercises
• Change your runners
• Start using orthotics

If your podiatrist identifies an issue outside of their areas of expertise, they may recommend consulting another health professional. This will ensure you get the very best advice for every element of your problem. But don’t worry — you won’t need to find someone yourself. We’ve developed an awesome network of like-minded health professionals who are as eager as we are to help you achieve your goals as soon as possible.