Avera Sports Running Analysis
Hit a new stride in your training and racing with a personalized running assessment at the Avera Sports Biomechanics Lab in Sioux Falls, SD. No matter your sport or what level you compete at, you’ll receive insight from experts to improve your running form, resulting in a more efficient and fluid stride
Whether you’re healthy and just want feedback on bettering your running technique, or if you experience pain while running (shin splints, knee pain), our Avera Sports experts use innovative technology to pinpoint possible reasons for the pain by revealing what happens when your foot strikes the ground.
Comprehensive Running Exam
Your in-depth running assessment involves experts in both running mechanics and sports medicine. Beginning with the collection and recording of your running stride from multiple angles, your analysis plays out as follows:
- A warm-up, lasting 5–10 minutes, at your own pace on the treadmill
- Performing 6–8 running trials, each 10 seconds, to simulate your training, tempo and race paces
- A detailed explanation of the key finding associated with your foot strike, mid-stance, toe-off and flight phases of your stride
Next, you’ll meet with a board-certified sports medicine specialist to discuss your running history, including any history of running related injuries. In this phase of your evaluation the following with occur:
- Deep dive into the movement and mobility characteristics of your ankle, knee and hip joints
- Series of manual muscle tests to shed light on your muscle strength and endurance
- Thorough review of how your mobility and muscle strength are impacting your running stride
At the end of your analysis appointment, we will encourage you to ask questions, discuss your results, and may also give you recommendations such as:
- Specific strength and flexibility exercises for improving your running stride
- Techniques and cues for adjusting your stride that may help to reduce the likelihood of recurring, running-related injuries
Instrumented Treadmill
Our state-of-the-art treadmill has a force plate embedded in its running surface. In sports science and biomechanics, force plates are the gold standard for testing and measuring 3-D impact forces.
By capturing and calculating the 3-D impact forces associated with your stride, we can better determine what, if any, left-versus-right-side differences you may be demonstrating. By identifying these differences, you’ll learn exactly where and how you’ll benefit from targeted strength and mobility training.
If you truly want to dissect what occurs at key moments such as foot strike, mid-stance and toe off, an instrumented treadmill is a must. While to the naked eye a runner’s stride may look fluid, an instrumented treadmill can tease out the smallest nuances and give us a chance to make the needed changes to your stride that you’re looking for.
Before & After Your Session
Prior to your appointment, our staff will ask you questions about your running history, past or current injuries and goals. This way we can customize your session to exactly what you are working toward. For the best assessment, please wear athletic gear — spandex or compression shorts, tights and tops work best — and bring a water bottle.
Electronic reports of these findings, things to work on (if need be) and the video clips of your running trials will all be sent to you within 3–7 days after completing your session.
More Testing Services
Avera Sports also offers a variety of other physiological-based testing that you can use to determine your current fitness level, as well as helping you set boundaries and zones for training program design. These tests include maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) with our portable, wearable Cosmed K5 metabolic analyzer, blood lactate testing to assess your lactate threshold and heart rate capture to help you identify your training zones.
