Why understanding how we move can help make sense of recurring pain
You rest it. You ice it. Maybe you change your shoes, take a few weeks off exercise, and gradually start feeling better. Then you return to your usual activities and, frustratingly, the same pain comes back.
If this sounds familiar, you’re certainly not alone. Persistent or recurring problems such as Achilles, knee, heel and calf pain are common, particularly in people who run, walk, play sport, or simply lead active lives. But when the same problem keeps returning, there’s an important question worth asking: Why does it keep happening?
Pain isn’t always the whole story
When something hurts, it’s natural to focus on that particular area. If your knee hurts, you concentrate on the knee. If your Achilles hurts, attention goes to the tendon.
The painful area is important, but it may not tell the whole story. Our muscles, joints and tendons work together to produce and control movement. Muscle groups may be strong and well coordinated, or there may be areas of weakness or asymmetry. Joints may have more or less mobility, while previous injury, footwear, activity levels, and the demands of work or sport can all influence the stresses placed on the body.
‘We are introducing Run3D and Walk3D as part of our advanced biomechanics service.’
None of these things necessarily represents a problem on its own. Human movement is varied, and there is no single “perfect” way for everybody to move. What matters is the overall pattern: how strength, mobility, coordination and movement relate to one another, and whether there are meaningful differences between the two sides of the body.
The aim isn’t to search for a single flaw or fault and declare it the cause of someone’s pain. It’s about fitting the pieces together, understanding how they interact and, importantly, deciding whether they actually matter for that individual. When a problem keeps returning, looking at this bigger picture can help us understand why a particular area may repeatedly struggle.
Where does biomechanics fit in?
Biomechanics is the study of movement – how the body moves and responds to the demands placed upon it. A musculoskeletal and biomechanics assessment can consider joint mobility, muscle strength, symmetry, balance, coordination and functional movement. These findings can then be considered alongside someone’s symptoms, history, activities and goals.
Clinical examination and skilled observation are important. However, three-dimensional motion analysis allows us to go beyond what we can see and objectively measure movement. At Feet & Motion, we are introducing Run3D and Walk3D as part of our advanced biomechanics service.
Using motion-capture technology, we can measure joint movement in three dimensions, identify asymmetries and analyse movement patterns that cannot be reliably quantified through visual observation alone. It gives us objective, measurable data that can be interpreted alongside clinical findings to build a detailed picture of how that individual moves.
What does this mean for you?
Collecting measurements is only useful if they help us make better decisions about your care. The purpose of a detailed assessment is to understand which factors are relevant to you, and what we can usefully do about them. That might involve building strength or capacity, improving mobility, modifying training or activity, looking at footwear or orthotics, working on movement strategies, or using treatment to help manage a painful or injured tissue. Often, it will be a combination.
Not every difference or asymmetry we identify will be relevant, and not everything we measure will require intervention. The important part is understanding what matters in the context of you, your symptoms, and what you want to be able to do. Ultimately, the aim isn’t to make everybody move in the same way. It’s about helping you get back to, and keep doing, the things you love whether that’s running, playing sport, walking the dog or keeping up with the grandchildren.
So perhaps the most useful question isn’t simply: “How do I treat this pain?” It might be: “Why does this keep happening, and what can I change to help prevent it coming back?”