What a difference a lift can make.
More from the pedal freaks….
Yes, we watch folks on bikes too. We look at foot and knee position, smoothness of strike, back position, as well as the spandex. Gait and biomechanics are everywhere and no one is safe from “the gait cam”.
Take a look at this gal and her pedal stroke. The first 9 second portion of the clip shows her pedal stroke with an increased medial migration of her L knee. Notice at about 4 seconds when she increases her cadence, it exaggerate the issue (see out post on that here). What sorts of things could cause that? A few causes are:
- Leg length discrepancy
- Collapsed arch of L foot
- Poor foot intrinsic strength of L foot
- Poor eccentric contraction of L posterior gluteus medius complex
- Weak lower abdominals L > R
- Decreased ankle rocker of L foot
- Cleat positioning on L shoe
- Hip osteoarthritis
- And the list goes on…
In this particular case, she had an anatomically short leg on the LEFT and weak foot intrinsics. Yes, we know, folks tend to pronate heavier on the LONGER leg side, but this is usually with running, not cycling. It tends (but not always) to be opposite with cycling. We believe this is due to the more rigid lasted cycling shoe and more of a “reach” with the foot on the short leg side.
In the second part of the clip, from 10 seconds to end, we place a 3mm lift on the left. THAT’S IT. Wow! What a difference! Still some oscillation of the knee at the top of her stroke (present on both sides, but more pronounced on the left), but much less. Note also that her body oscillation lessens as well and her stroke is smoother.
The Gait Guys. Not only are we watching how you walk, but also how you ride
