Does a podiatry perform gait analysis?

The clinician may watch you from several angles, assess your stride, foot contact, balance and push-off, and compare movement on both sides. Depending on the clinic, the assessment may include video or a pressure-sensitive walkway. You may be asked to walk barefoot and in your usual shoes, or to jog if running brings on symptoms. Results can guide footwear advice, exercises, load changes or orthotic planning. Gait findings are one part of an examination and need to be interpreted alongside your history and symptoms.

Wear comfortable clothing and bring the shoes used for the activity that causes concern. Note where symptoms begin and whether they change with speed, hills or distance. Tell the podiatrist about injuries, operations and medical conditions affecting balance or sensation. Ask what the assessment can answer and which practical change will be tried first. Do not push through sharp pain simply to produce a longer recording.

Seek prompt care for sudden inability to walk, a visibly deformed foot or ankle, severe swelling after injury, new weakness, or numbness with a cold or discoloured limb. Fever with a hot, red foot also needs timely assessment. These signs call for medical evaluation rather than a routine gait appointment.

What part of my gait appears unusual? Could my shoes or training load influence it? Will video or pressure measurement add useful information? What exercise, footwear or follow-up plan follows from the findings?