Running & Hiking Evaluation
Living in a beautiful environment with world class trails leads to plenty of opportunity for running and hiking. Both of these activities range in degree from recreational to highly competitive, but share one common goal–enjoying the outdoors. If running or hiking is painful, the experience can be tarnished. Allow us to restore the experience to its proper shine.
Evaluation of the gait cycle at various paces, inclines, and surface types can reveal biomechanical dysfunctions or areas of weakness. Treating these issues can resolve pain and improve efficiency in the absence of discomfort. This translates into improved endurance and the ability to hike or run longer and stronger with less pain and improved function.
Our system of analysis involves functional testing of walking, stepping up and down, balance, agility and deceleration. These tests are performed based on the client’s goals. We also take advantage of video analysis, enabling each client to see what we see, creating a better understanding of the problem. If the client wants to be able to take a leisurely walk in the woods, the evaluation may focus more on walking and static balance. If the client is a competitive trail runner the evaluation may include single leg hop testing, balance and reach testing, and incline intervals on a treadmill. If backpacking is your activity of choice, we will do a pack fit as well as perform testing with a loaded pack to ensure many miles of happy trails.
After the full evaluation, we will provide a treatment plan which will outline future physical therapy visits needed to resolve the targeted dysfunctions. Manual therapy treatment to correct the dysfunction(s) will be performed. Specific exercises designed to support areas of treatment, or strengthen areas of weakness will be provided. Each client will receive a written synopsis of the evaluation for their records and personal use. Finally, deficiency tests will be performed again at the end of the session to gauge improvement. For future visits we will now have objective baseline measurements, providing a scaffold toward achieving your goals. We’ll be with you each step of the way, empowering you to live your best life, every day.