improve your Gait Cycle to decrease pain & Reduce Injury Rate
how does gait analysis work and What Do We Use gait analysis For?
You walk into yet another clinic to see yet another specialist for yet another opinion. They ask you to strip down a bit and stand still. They take a look before getting you to lay down in order to examine you some more.
Riddle me this… if your pain is a result of dysfunctional biomechanics, fascial adhesions and postural adaptations, wouldn’t the best way to identify the problem be to assess these very things in action? Bear with me here.
If the most primal and basic human motion is running, wouldn’t your problems be on open display if you were to try to run? If you could run like Usain Bolt, jump like LeBron James, punch like Muhammad Ali and kick a ball like Ronaldo - would you still be in the same amount of pain? The answer will almost exclusively be no.
You might say "Yes, but many professional athletes find themselves injured all of the time"... and you wouldn't be wrong. In our experience, injuries in professional athletes are often a result of how they train and their rehabilitation practices. We aren't trying to copy how they train; millions of athletes and average joe's alike try that at the gym and sports ground every year. If moving that well was that easy then we'd all be able to sprint to work and backflip our way out of chronic pain. Again, we're not trying to copy how they train: we're trying to copy HOW THEY MOVE.
Having your gait cycle (your run) analysed quickly shines a light on where your adhesions are. Certain points of your body drop down too far upon impact, other parts are stiff and immobile, curves in the spine become more apparent and failure to rotate at certain points becomes incredibly clear.
If someone were to then deconstruct the weak or dysfunctional points of your run, and construct these into bite sized, corrective exercises, what would happen to your structure? If you paired this with the release of your adhesions… what would happen to your pain?
how we treat gait to reduce risk of injury, decrease pain and increase athleticism
Functional Patterns was designed to optimise the Big Four of human movement: Standing, Walking, Running, and Throwing. Walking and Running fall under the category of Gait. If you learn what it takes to precisely execute these movements to the highest degree, the benefits will transfer to literally every other movement you do and you will therefore see a decrease in dysfunctions and their associated pain. Whether it be a passive position like sitting, an athletic position like cutting laterally, or any other movement configuration – optimising your gait means that you improve your entire movement spectrum. Instead of trading fitness for function or vice versa, you get both simultaneously! That's the Functional Patterns way!
Below are some examples of people who have transformed their health and fitness by implementing the Functional Patterns gait protocol.
Case Study - PRO ATHLETE Improves speed by 4.4km/hr with 4kg muscle gain in 6mo
Relevant performance gains with all pain now eliminated. Addressing gait as a primary focus has eliminated chronic groin and lumbar spine issues and now Jim is flying at 35.9km/hr. You are a human before you are a cricketer, office worker, cleaner. Record yourself sprinting and then look into FP
Before - 96kg- chronic osteitis pubis and multiple stress fractures from 2013-2018 with traditional training. Minimal TVA engagement with an excessive kypholordosis
After - 100kg - Zero pain, now 2 years without missing a match, more overs bowled than all previous years, selected for QLD 2nd XI. Big improvements in lumbar compression and pelvic/rib cage positions
Bowling takes its toll on the body and there’s always room for improvement but focussing on the big 4 has reaped big benefits here. Gait to come
Case Study - Professional cricketer with multiple chronic injuries
Pro cricketer @mattrenshaw449 presented with chronic knee, hip, neck and shoulder pain after cricket, previous history of a right ACL surgery in high school.
During the season it’s extremely difficult to get consistent training in, with travel and the nature of cricket on the body meaning many sessions are figuring out how much damage has been done on the weekend. In the off-season we’ve managed to find consistent time to address many of the issues Matt was dealing with, and we’ve definitely taken steps towards function.
Results
✅ Improved SIJ elastic recoil
✅ Improved knee varus bilaterally
✅ Improved horizontal force production
✅ Improved lateral line tension
✅ Greater arm line potentiation
✅ Pelvis shifting more anteriorly
✅ Greater leg drive
Matt has improved his health in multiple areas, with a better diet, significantly decreased reliance on caffeine, and improving his vitamin D levels ☀️We still have a ways to go, but significant improvements in movement and pain
Client unable to run due to pain can now run pain free at 25kmh
In the before he is unable to run and is experiencing severe lower back pain and sciatica down the left leg. Last video is running pain free at 25kmh.
“I began seeing Max in December 2020 following a rugby-related shoulder reconstruction and after suffering years of debilitating lower back pain, a severe left glute nerve pinch and sciatica down entire left leg, following a high school rowing injury (L5S1 pars defects and herniated disc). Until this point, I’d had limited success and relief from physio treatment & had reached a point where specialists were recommending back surgery as my best option. At only 23 and having just spent 6 uncomfortable weeks in a sling, I was desperate to try anything to relieve my ever-present pain, whilst also avoiding a surgical procedure with >50% success rate. Luckily, a family friend recommended Functional Patterns to my mother and it’s safe to say that the results have been life changing.
This time last year, my lower back and associated issues had become so severe that I couldn’t even kick the footy, let alone run any significant distance without suffering horrible pain and ongoing stiffness, despite being a gifted athlete and sprinter when I was younger. Additional to this, I have always had strong yet extremely unstable shoulders and scapula, leading to multiple subluxations on both sides and the complete dislocation on my right.
FP’s mfr techniques, functional movement, strength and postural training, coupled with Max’s uncompromising attention to detail, has produced results I could have only dreamed of a few months ago. I have noticed a definite change in my body and even facial structure, especially regarding my overall core strength and stability. I have also been able to gain 7kgs of muscle mass over this time.
The great results achieved through FP have not only allowed me to begin running again, but also to get back into rugby and start a physically demanding field ecology job. None of this would have been sustainably possible without @functionalpatterns”
Improved Speed, Mechanics and Muscle Gain In Athlete
In the before video Aryan was performing traditional strength and conditioning 2-3/week and training cricket 2-3 times/week, along with weekly games. He was then suffering from chronic hip flexor and hamstring issues
In the final video he is running with zero pain at 25.8km/hr up from 21.3km/hr in the second video. His mechanics have vastly improved while also gaining functional muscle mass. In this time Aryan has also been selected in the Queensland 2nd XI team
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Since I started training with Functional Patterns, I’ve seen a remarkable improvement in my movement. Through FP techniques, I’ve achieved the alleviation of pain and sprint speed gains that no other training regime has been able to give me. Both the practitioners I’ve used, Sol and Louis, are very knowledgeable, have great attention to detail and their constant collaboration even after I moved countries demonstrates their commitment to getting results”
More GaIt Improvements
