Orthotics - a video gait analysis

Well it's taken me since Christmas, but this week was my first full week using my new orthotics. Why so long? The old orthotics were rigid full-foot orthotics; the hard plate, custom moulded to my foot, reached to the ball of my foot, and had an in-sole bonded to it. They held my feet at the neutral angle, but allowed very little flexing of my foot. The new orthotics are shorter and flexible, and have no in-sole - you use the shoe's own in-sole rather than replacing it. Garfield is kindly displaying the new orthotic in the previous post.

The new orthotics feel very different in use. After years of rigidity, suddenly my feet are able to flex during the stride, resulting initially in a lot of aching around my arches. I've been walking around in them full time since Christmas and gradually introducing them into my runs. Some runs I had to stop and swap the orthotics back to the old ones, such was the discomfort. Patience has paid off though and I've now done 2 20-mile runs with no discomfort; in fact last week after the Mad March Hare 20, I realised for the first time that I hadn't even been aware of the orthotics.

I had a video gait analysis a few weeks back by Paul Harradine, the podiatrist supplying the orthotics. It revealed that the new orthotics were functioning well, reducing pronation, but highlighted some other features of my gait: with the new orthotics my stride has been lengthened. This is no doubt due to the increased flexing of my foot - my foot stays in contact with the ground longer allowing better propulsion. In theory this has made me more efficient, and hence quicker. I'll have some of that!

The video gait analysis also revealed why I've been having problems with the New Balance 1060s which I switched to after Asics changed the Cumulus. My stride is much shorter in the 1060s. I suspect it's because of the shape of the sole - making you feel like you're tipping over the edge onto your toes. The result appears to be a short choppy stride, and straining of the peroneus longus. I never realised shoes could have such an effect on gait in this way, but maybe this is obvious!

It's difficult to demonstrate these findings without displaying the video footage, but here are some screenshots.

New orthotics + Mizuno This shows the new orthotics working well in the Mizuno Waveriders - my workhorse shoe. Notice the minimal angle between shoe and leg - little pronation - and how much lower the heel is compared to the other shots - showing the lengthened stride (which is far more obvious in the video because I clearly take fewer strides)	New orthotics + NB1060 This shows the shortened stride with the 1060s - the heel is higher (again easier to see on the video)
Old orthotics + Mizuno You can see the slightly higher heel here from the slightly shorter stride, though not as bad as the 1060s. It is also evident that the old orthotics weren't controlling pronation so well - the angle between shoe and leg is slightly more than for the new orthotics above (easier to see when zoomed in and applying the video analysis tools)	No orthotics + Mizuno Here you can see just how much I pronate without orthotics - the angle between shoe and leg is quite pronounced. The line up the middle of the heel is pointing up the inside of my leg, whereas in the other shots it's pointing up the middle of the leg

Without the tools provided by the analysis software it's difficult to make out some of the features described above, but trust me - they are there - I watched Paul do the analysis. It was a very useful session - thanks Paul!