Improve running, a scientific way

Pune’s Atul Godbole uses Gait analysis to help athletes run more efficiently and to identify posture-related or movement-related problems

By Ashish Phadnis

Gait analysis is used to assess, plan, and treat individuals with conditions affecting their ability to run. It is also commonly used in sports biomechanics to help athletes run more efficiently and to identify posture-related or movement-related problems in people with injuries. Pune’s Atul Godbole is one of the few who conducts analysis.

A software engineer by profession, Atul has been an elite runner and has been participating marathons regularly. He recently participated in the Comrades Marathon, the toughest marathon in South Africa, and has been training other runners to prepare for the next edition. Since last year, he started doing gait analysis and has been getting good results.

“Currently lot of commoners has taken up running and they plan to run big events. However, they are not aware of their body imbalances and posture weakness. Eventually, they end up having an injury. To tackle this common issue, gait analysis is must. There are some analyses for elite runners of Army Sports Institute, but for commoners it’s not accessible. So I decided to start on my own,” said Atul.
 Some of the most common injuries like runner’s knee, IT band pain, Achilles pain, plantar fasciitis, shin splints and stress fractures can be traced back to a flawed running gait. Gait analysis makes the runner aware of flaws in the gait, claims Atul.

“Our analysis screens for 16 bio-mechanical criteria, quite literally from head to toe. Using high-definition super slow-motion video footage captured on open ground or on treadmill, I determine any untold movement of the upper body, foot landing and hips movement. We also do a running specific muscle test to detect muscle imbalance, inflexibility, weakness and inhibition.” he said.

Not just analysis, but Atul advices specific drills, strengthening exercises and stretches customised as per the needs of each runner, along with helpful mental cues to be used use while running.
 “It normally takes six weeks to get some results but so far we have analysed 20–25 runners and are getting a good feedback from them,” he said.

Originally published on The Golden Sparrow