Biomechanical Analysis: A Physiotherapist’s Guide

Biomechanical analysis looks at how you move and how your body shares load. It can help explain why pain keeps returning, why performance feels “stuck”, or why one side keeps working harder than the other.

Many people book an assessment after a flare-up with running, walking, gym training, or sport. Others come in early because they want clearer answers before they build training volume or change footwear.

Importantly, a movement assessment works best when it links straight to a plan. That plan often includes load changes, targeted strength work, and small technique adjustments that suit your goals.

What is biomechanical analysis?

Biomechanical analysis is a structured way to assess movement quality, joint control, and how forces travel through your body. Physiotherapists commonly use video, functional testing, and task-based assessment such as walking, squatting, lunging, hopping, or running.

Depending on your needs, this may include gait analysis or running analysis. If work tasks drive symptoms, a targeted workplace screen may also help, alongside our ergonomics and workplace assessment options.

Who benefits most?

Biomechanical analysis suits many people, including recreational runners, field sport athletes, gym-goers, and busy workers with persistent aches. It is also useful after an injury when you want to return to training with fewer setbacks.

For runners, common reasons include recurring knee pain, shin pain, Achilles symptoms, or heel pain. You may also benefit if you’ve had repeated flare-ups covered in our common running injuries guide.

What a physiotherapist may check

A physiotherapist will match the assessment to your sport, work, and symptoms. Common checkpoints include:

• Stride pattern, cadence, and step width during walking or running
• Hip and knee control during squats, single-leg tasks, and landing
• Foot and ankle control, including how you absorb and re-use force
• Joint range and stiffness that may shift load elsewhere
• Strength and endurance, especially calves, and hip and trunk control
• Training load, recovery, footwear, and surface changes

How results turn into practical changes

Biomechanics alone rarely tell the full story. However, when you combine movement findings with your training history and symptoms, you can often make clearer choices.

For example, a runner with recurring heel pain may need calf capacity work and short-term load changes, then a graded return to speed and hills. In that scenario, it can help to review related pages such as plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinopathy if symptoms match those patterns.

Similarly, recurring kneecap pain often improves when you match strength work to the right tissues and adjust technique or training dose. You can compare common patterns in runner’s knee and patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS).

People also ask: “Can a biomechanical assessment prevent injuries?”

It can help, especially when it identifies overload patterns early and you act on them. Still, prevention usually comes from the basics done consistently: sensible progression, strength and capacity work, recovery, and technique changes when they suit your body and goals. Australia’s physical activity guidelines also support regular strength work and steady activity as part of long-term health. Read the Australian Government physical activity guidelines.

What to do next

If pain keeps returning, book a biomechanical assessment and bring your usual shoes and any training notes. Next, expect a clear summary of the key findings and a practical plan you can follow at home and in the gym. Finally, re-check progress after you’ve had time to apply the changes.

References

1. Doyle E, Doyle TLA, Bonacci J, Fuller JT. The effectiveness of gait retraining on running kinematics, kinetics, performance, pain, and injury in distance runners: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2022;52(4):192-206. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35128941/
2. Gaudette LW, Bradach MM, de Souza Junior JR, et al. Clinical application of gait retraining in the injured runner. J Clin Med. 2022;11(21):6497. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36362725/
3. Rynne R, Le Tong G, Cheung RTH, Constantinou M. Effectiveness of gait retraining interventions in individuals with hip or knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Gait Posture. 2022;95:164-175. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35500366/
4. Doyle EW, Doyle TLA, Bonacci J, Fuller JT. Field-based gait retraining to reduce impact loading using tibial accelerometers in high-impact recreational runners: a feasibility study. Sensors (Basel). 2025;25(6):1712. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40292796/
5. D’Haene M, Chorin F, Colson SS, et al. Validation of a 3D markerless motion capture tool using multiple pose and depth estimations for quantitative gait analysis. Sensors (Basel). 2024;24(22):7105. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39598883/