Biomechanics

London Podiatry Centre patients often learn through a gait analysis and biomechanical assessment that their sports injury or leg or back pain is caused by a poor alignment of the bone, ligament and muscle structure of their feet and legs.

Human feet comprise 52 bones, 66 joints, 214 ligaments and 38 muscles and tendons, and a relatively small misalignment of that system may cause painful effects throughout the whole body.

The road to recovery from foot-related injury often starts with an in-depth assessment of a patient's gait (gait analysis) to provide our clinicians with insight about walking patterns and muscular-skeletal alignment.

The London Podiatry Centre is the only specialist podiatric clinic in the UK to employ Vicon for gait analysis. Vicon is the world's most advanced optical motion capture system. The system analyses multi-angle 3D video of full-body motion paths to identify patterns of function that may be the cause of sports injury or pain.

A gait analysis combined with an evaluation of footwear and walking or sports habits will usually reveal the cause of a foot-related injury or source of pain, where a simple x-ray or generalized medical investigation would not.

Once diagnosed, London Podiatry Centre patients receive a tailor-made treatment plan designed to restore the foot and leg system back to more normal and symmetrical function.

Treatment plans may include footwear guidance, orthoses created with the F-Scan pressure measurement system, exercise therapy and possible invasive modalities such as injection therapy and foot surgery.

Treatment plans are often created in collaboration with chiropractors, physiotherapists, osteopaths and other medical professionals who work closely with the Centre.