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New York, NY
Gait Analysis NYC
12/03/2017
Hip Pain and the Lower Back….are they connected?
Solutions for Hip and Back Pain
Ever had hip pain that occurred without any trauma? Do you experience hip discomfort when sitting for a long time? Does your hip still feel weak and painful even after performing exercises to strengthen the hip muscles? Do you experience some mild aching and stiffness in the lower back?
If so, then your lower back can contribute to your hip pain and weakness. Your lower back is a series of joints that move on top of one another to enable you to bend backwards, bend forwards, and shift your hips from side to side. Stiffness in the lower back will affect some of these motions and may affect the nerves that exit from the lower back and innervate the leg. Some signs of nerve irritation are pain, burning, numbness/tingling, and weakness in the muscles that are innervated by that nerve.
Hip Pain Accompanied By Low Back Pain
When you experience stiffness in the lower back along with hip pain, you may notice that you will have difficulty bending forward to pick up an object and/or have discomfort returning upright. This lower back stiffness can affect the nerves that innervate your hip and contribute to your pain. Improving the motion of a stiff lower back can alleviate the nerve irritation.
Once the nerve irritation is alleviated, the discomfort should subside and your hip strength will improve. People with hip discomfort when sitting for a long time may notice their symptoms decrease once they sit in an upright posture or get up to move around.
A number of my patients are surprised how much their hip pain and strength improves after I address their lower back stiffness in addition to treating their hip. They may complain of minor aching and stiffness in the lower back, but will focus more on the limitations and pain in their hip since it notably affects their daily activities.
Diagnose and Treat Hip Pain
In addition to a movement assessment of the lower back, you will undergo a weak link assessment on the Red Cord system. A Redcord weak link assessment is a series of tests to identify weakness/dysfunctional movement patterns in the core stabilizers and legs that may contribute to your hip pain. The combination of hands on therapy to get your back moving and weak link corrections with the Redcord system will have you moving pain free again.
Come in for a lower back and weak link assessment and we will create a treatment plan to have you back to your favorite activities pain free.
11/17/2017
Running Form Analysis In NYC
Running Form Analysis Clinic in NYC
If you run regularly, I highly recommend having a professional running gait analysis performed. Having someone with expertise give you personalized tips can really help you to prevent injuries by improving the mechanics of your running form.
After running in a local 5K, I was entered in a drawing to win a few free sessions with a running coach. Against all odds and my previous experiences in such contests, I actually won.
Running gait analysis
When I had my running gait analyzed, I was told I took too few steps per minute. Runners should take 180 steps per minute. Elite runners have been shown to take 180 steps per minute or more naturally. This reduces the shock of the impact when the foot lands. If your foot hits the ground less frequently that means your body spends more time in the air. Your foot will then hit the ground with more force thus risking injury. Many injuries occur due to the impact of the runner’s foot with the ground. A great way to help you keep 180 steps per minute is to find some songs with 180 beats per minutes to listen to as you run.
I was also told that I needed to keep my wrists loose. There is a correlation between how relaxed your upper body is and your lower body. For example, if your shoulders are relaxed, your hips will be relaxed. If your elbows are relaxed, your knees will be relaxed. This also can help prevent injuries. Runners really need to consider the overall form of their entire body and not just the legs. Having this objectively measured by a pro really helps.
Running Biomechanics
Foot strike needs to be carefully evaluated as well. Which part of your foot hits the ground first and how does it hit? This can vary depending on if you are training for a sprint or a long-distance race. Sprinters tend to hit the ground with balls of their feet while distance runners tend to strike heel first. When the middle or heel of the foot hits first, it can help to reduce calf pain and injuries. Wherever the foot falls first, an important thing to remember is to avoid having your toes pointed outward. How your toes are pointed can be difficult for you to determine yourself so having someone else analyze this is important.
Residents of NYC can visit the Manhattan running lab to get a much more in-depth running form analysis in NYC than I had with the local running coach just running around a track. State of the art technology used there can really drill down to all the nuances of your gait. If someone can help you with the form of your foot strike and your breathing rhythms as the professionals at CLINICUBE can, you’ll be on your way to your best, injury free performances.
10/28/2016
How a NYC gait analysis lab can improve your health
You’ve probably heard of gait analysis and a gait analysis lab and have a rough idea of what they are. Maybe you think it’s mostly for serious runners wanting to fine tune their technique in order to avoid injury. Or perhaps you think it’s a sales device of high-end running stores to help them sell expensive footwear.
While some of this may be true, gait analysis is a whole science which involves much more than this.
What is gait analysis?
In essence, gait analysis is the systematic and scientific study of motion, usually human. It requires intensive observation by both the human eye and by cameras to intelligently process kinetic and kinematic data. Gait analysis should effectively measure muscle activity, body mechanics and body movement. Importantly, it should also deliver findings and advice in a clear and understandable way, as we do at The Center.
How has gait analysis developed?
With the rapid pace of technological development, gait analysis as a field has enjoyed significant improvement. Gait analysis has come a long way since its origins concentrating on animals and the first scientific papers in the 1890s, looking at the bio-mechanics of human gait under loaded and unloaded conditions.
Today, thanks to major continuing developments in photography and cinematography technologies, there is unprecedented visual access and bio-mechanical intelligence in how our bodies move and how we record related data.
What happens during a visit to NYC gait analysis lab?
Most gait analysis labs have several cameras, including infrared cameras, placed around a treadmill and connected to computers. As a patient, you will have markers placed on various points of the body, enabling trajectories to be calculated and detailed evaluations given of each functioning joint. You will be given a series of physical tests for observations to be made and data to be collected.
But remember, every gait analysis is likely to be slightly different. There are many variables.
Gait Analysis NYC | Running Lab NYC where can i get a gait analysis?
RunningLab at Launchfit™ by Clinicube®
At our running lab and gait analysis in Manhattan, we have state-of-the-art technologies including the OptoJump Next. This is an innovative analysis and measurement system enabling the measurement of ‘flying’ and ground contact intervals.
Athlete performances can be evaluated and periodically monitored, building intricate databases to check progress or help develop rehabilitation plans. At The Center, our computer-assisted functional evaluation and training programs ensure accurate results.
Is gait analysis for you?
While it is commonly used to support athletes and runners, gait analysis can offer an effective insight for those undergoing rehabilitation after an accident or injury, or anyone with posture or movement issues.
Gait analysis is bigger than us
As a science, it’s worth remembering that gait analysis also has much wider and deeper applications for improving health and making findings. It can be used to inform a range of medical diagnostics: providing options for the treatment of conditions such as cerebral palsy; potentially helping a patient rediscover who they are, should they ever lose their memory; and offering us a greater understanding of movement outside our species).
If you’d like to discuss how gait analysis can improve your health today, contact us at Launchfit™ by Clinicube®for more information or sign up online right away by clicking here.