Dartfish: Gait Analysis

By Jill Berron

 I am admittedly a nerd—I love reading, numbers and data. When I can combine that with running…even better! That’s why I was so excited to take advantage of the opportunity to have a Dartfish Analysis done by our very own Elena and Emily at Athletico.

Emily started me off with a five minute warm up on a stationary bike before moving into a dynamic warm up, which was a mini workout in itself! It included skipping forward and backward (surprisingly, not as hard as it sounds), side shuffles, several lunge variations and leg swings, among other exercises. She then had me do a few static exercises, such as twists, squats and lunges to ensure that my feet pronate and supinate properly. 

My warm-up checklist!

After that, she did a variety of muscle tests in which she pushed and pulled on my legs (and had me resist her motions) in a variety of positions to check for strength on both the right and left sides, identify imbalances and check flexibility. These deficits and imbalances can cause a collapse in the kinetic chain, which stresses tissues and can lead to injury over time and mileage increases.

Next, it was onto the treadmill!  After establishing a comfortable pace, Elena recorded me running from behind and each side for a few minutes. She then pulled up the video in the Dartfish software to begin the analysis. The nerd in me was absolutely fascinated by this part. She was able to move through the video frame by frame to pause on certain points in my stride to evaluate.  She looked at my form at initial contact, midstance (the “bottom” of my stride) and pushoff from each angle. The first thing she looked at was the rear angle: she used the software to draw a straight line down my backbone and played the video to see if I bend my trunk to either side, if my feet cross midline or if my knees move medially or laterally while running. She also drew a horizontal line across my hips to see if my hips drop as my foot lands and looked at the angle of my ankles in midstance to check for pronation or supination.

After that, we moved to the side views.  From the three different positions in the gait cycle, she used the software to draw angles on my legs and joints. She measured a variety of different angles, such as footstrike, the angle of the knee as the foot contacts the ground (too straight and it can cause extra stress on the shin and knee) and at midstride (does it go past my toe), body alignment (do I lean forward at the hips or the ankles) and vertical excursion (how high do I bounce when I run).

When the analysis was concluded, Elena and Emily put their respective results together and were able to point out my deficiencies and suggest exercises to improve them. So here’s how my results came out.  On the positive side (i.e. I do not need to work to correct this stuff):  I do not twist or bend my trunk or cross centerline with my feet;  my knees move mildly medial; I have a rearfoot strike (less than a 10% angle when my feet contact the ground); the angle of my knees as I land is good and they do not move past my toe in midstride; I lean forward from the ankles and not the hips.

Here’s what I need to work on and their suggestions on how to correct it: my hips drop as my feet land so I need to do lateral planks and clam shells to work on hip strength. This weakness can cause IT band issues, among other problems. I have a mild overpronation on both feet, which I can help mediate with arch cupping exercises.  I have a moderate vertical excursion—the distance that I move up and down over the course of my stride. Basically, I have a little too much bounce when I run, which is a waste of energy and places unnecessary extra  stress on the joints. In order to reduce this, Elena recommended that I increase my cadence (step rate) by about 5%. She suggested using a metronome app or Rock My Run, which selects songs with a beat the same as your target cadence.

Emily’s muscle testing coincided with Elena’s video analysis results. I’ve had IT band pain in the past which correlates with my pelvis tilt. Emily also noted a weakness in my hip abductors, which goes along with that pelvis tilt. She said that I have great toe motion, which correlates with my ability to toe off correctly during my running gait and that assists in supination of the foot for a good push off.

I asked Emily and Elena if there was anything else that they wanted people to know about the analysis process. They said that their goal is to evaluate any strength deficits and muscular imbalances that might cause a collapse in the kinetic chain. They want to help make up more efficient runners and avoid injury. If a runner has a repetitive injury, they want to identify the cause and not treat the symptoms (i.e. shin pain is the “victim” but narrow running style could be the culprit). They can also evaluate your footwear and offer shoe prescriptions. I know several of the other runners brought in multiple pairs of shoes so Elena could evaluate them in different types of footwear.

Over the last few weeks, I've really been focusing on cadence and I can't say for sure if it's that our the change in the weather, but I've seen a definite improvement in my pace. I'm also working in the other exercises about 3x per week. I haven't noticed a great difference in my running from doing them,but I can definitely tell I'm getting stronger because they're getting easier for me.

Overall, the Dartfish analysis was awesome. Elena and Emily really understand what we go through as runners, unlike some doctors who just advise you to “stop running for a few weeks and take some ibuprofen.”  (Yes, I’ve actually paid money for that prescription a few times.) The evaluation offers practical advice and I would absolutely recommend it to any runner, whether or not you have pain.  It’s a great tool to help keep us healthy and doing what we love!

You can contact Athletico at 636-239-9979 (Washington) or 314-781-0679 (Brentwood). Emily’s email is emily.helton@athletico.com and Elena’s is elena.claus@athletico.com.

Want to get to know Jill better? Check out her Runfie Questions!

What brought you to DRC? I saw a friend posting to DRC on Facebook (before the group was public) and I needed some motivation and accountability. I was really just getting started and wanted a place to ask questions and learn a little bit.

How long have you been a runner? After a few failed attempts to start, I've been running consistently for about 2 1/2 years.

What is your favorite running quote? I have two favorite running quotes! "It's very hard to understand in the beginning that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit." -George Sheehan