I just run for fun! I’m not an elite athlete? I’m not injured? Why would I need a running assessment?
A running assessment is not just for an elite athlete or someone who is injured. They are for any runner that wants to get a little better or try to prevent or reduce the risk of injury. The research shows anywhere from 19-92% of runners will have an injury at some point in their running journey. And if you have been injured then that increases your risk of injury by 50%.
Injuries are however multifactorial, meaning that not one particular thing has been shown in the research to predict an injury. Now there are things that you can’t change like your age and sex, however you can change other things such as sleep habits and diet. A Running Assessment can look at other factors and let you know how important they are to your running program.
What’s involved in a running assessment?
First of all we will chat about your current running issues, training load, previous injuries and get an idea of where you are currently. We can also have a look at any wearable data that you may have to help develop the picture and find any potential issues.
Then we will do a set of testing for strength, flexibility and endurance and compare that to research so that you know what you need to work on. Having a weakness in an area may increase your risk of injury.
Last we will look at how you run, using footage and wearable’s we will gather as much data about your running technique as we can.
During your session we will discuss changes that you can start making straight away. We will then go away and assess the data more in depth and provide you with a detailed and tailored program to address any of your issues.
What should I wear?
Wear the clothing that you usually run in. However ensure that is not too baggy or it will make it difficult to work out how your body is moving under the clothing.
If you have a couple of pairs of shoes in rotation at present bring them both along to your running assessment. Different shoes can change how your body works and thus contribute to or prevent injury.
What should I bring with me?
Bring in all your past and current runners. If this will be bags and bags of them, then bring the current ones in your rotation and pick a couple of worn-out pairs.
It may also be useful to have access to any wearable data you might be collecting of your runs. This can be on an app or you can login to the site to show us your data.
Remember that injuries are multifactorial. When you run your foot strikes the ground 1000 times per 1km and with forces 2.5 times your body weight. That a lot of force that your body has to absorb. A running assessment can show where there is potential for increased load which may lead to injury.
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