An hour of gait analysis £95, custom orthotics £260 the pair with the fitting and a review
Biomechanics and custom orthotics
For heel pain, arch pain, shin splints, knee pain and the feet that ache by the end of the day: an hour on the treadmill and the couch to find out why, a treatment plan that is usually exercises and footwear first, and custom orthotics made from a scan of your feet when they are the answer, £260 the pair with the fitting and a review.
Most foot pain that is not a nail or a corn is about how the foot moves: a heel that hurts on the first steps in the morning, an arch that aches by four o'clock, shins that hurt at mile three, a knee that hurts on the stairs. The biomechanical assessment finds out why, and the answer is usually exercises and the right shoes before it is ever an insole.
The assessment is an hour. We take the history, examine the joints and the muscles on the couch, watch you stand, and film you walking and running on the treadmill in slow motion, barefoot and in your usual shoes. Then we sit down and go through the video with you: what the foot is doing, what that does to everything above it, and what we think is causing the pain.
The plan comes in order of evidence. For plantar heel pain it is calf stretching, load management, the right shoe and time; for shin splints it is usually training load; for many arch problems it is strengthening. Insoles come in when they help: off-the-shelf from £35 if they will do the job, custom orthotics from a 3D scan of your feet when they will not, made in a lab in Bristol and fitted here in about three weeks.
Custom orthotics are £260 the pair including the fitting, an adjustment if needed and a review at six weeks, and they last three to five years. We tell you honestly if we think they will not help, and about a third of people who come in asking for orthotics leave with a stretching sheet instead. Bring the shoes you wear most and the ones you run in.
What is included
- An hour: couch, standing and treadmill video
- The video gone through with you
- Exercises and footwear first
- Off-the-shelf insoles when they will do
- Custom orthotics from a 3D scan when they will not
- A review at six weeks
What it costs
The biomechanical assessment, an hour, £95. Custom orthotics, the pair, £260 including the fitting and a review at six weeks; a second pair for different shoes £150. Off-the-shelf insoles fitted from £35 when they will do. The prices page has every price in the clinic and at home; the symptom finder says which appointment fits what is bothering you.
Questions about biomechanics
Do I need custom orthotics?
Possibly not. About a third of people who ask for them leave with exercises and shoe advice instead, and many more do well with a £35 off-the-shelf insole. We say which after the assessment.
What should I bring?
The shoes you wear most, the ones you exercise in, shorts so we can see your knees, and any scan reports. If you run, run here: there is a treadmill.
The next free appointment is on this website.
A first appointment is forty-five minutes and £52: the history, the circulation and sensation checks, and the treatment itself. Book online from an hour and a half ahead or ring the clinic; two slots a day are kept for painful problems that should not wait.