Runeasi AI 3D Running Gait Analysis Software Test and Review

RUNNING IS A LOT more than just putting one foot in front of the other. There are entire systems of the body working together with every footstep – so if something isn’t right, it doesn’t take much to get yourself completely out of trouble.

Unfortunately, I know exactly how that happens. Last year I ran a marathon, and after all the training miles and the big race were done, I developed a sore hamstring problem that haunted me for months afterwards.

I spent hours in special physical therapy and took some time off the road. Now the injury finally seems to have healed enough for me to resume a normal running regimen. However, before I go too far down that path, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just setting myself up for a quick trip back to the PT’s office. I went straight there and checked in at Dan Giordano, DPT, CSCS bee Customized treatments in NYC to see what high-tech solutions are available to help me run stronger.

Giordano had just the tools: Runeasiwhich is intended to help PTs and coaches identify the weaknesses in your stride that can lead to inefficiencies – and later, injuries.

What is the Runeasi 3D gait analysis

The high-tech solution comes in the form of a sensor attached to a belt that looks and feels just like the treadmills that long-distance athletes wear to carry gear on the road.

Using the tool is a two-part process: after collecting data from a run, the software goes to work and analyzes the motion information to determine what asymmetries and compensations exist in your gait (the cycle your leg goes through during running).

Gait analysis itself is not new. You may have even seen specialty running stores offering the service in a closed off area of ​​their stores. Really high-level testing requires the subject to run on a treadmill so the PT or coach can review video footage and data and then provide their own feedback and recommendations. Runeasi uses software trained on data from more than 10 years of research collected by the Human Movement and Artificial Intelligence Research Groups of KU Leuven in Belgium and the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Runeasi’s software suite was also validated using data from the gold standard Vicon motion capture system, said Kurt Schütte, PhD, CEO and co-founder of Runeasi.

According to Giordano, Runeasi also differs from other running analyzes because it measures the impact on the ground and the body’s reaction with each step. The technology uses three parameters for this: dynamic stability, symmetry and impact load.

Dynamic stability

This measure is based on the lateral movement of the hips (essentially how well you can stabilize the hips while running). “A poor score can indicate poor hip control, which increases the work of your stabilizing muscles,” says Giordano. “This can reduce your walking efficiency (how much energy you expend with each step) and increase your risk for overuse injuries.”

Symmetry

This is the difference between the right and left sides of your body and how they work together. This also affects running efficiency, and poor scores can indicate the potential for injury, according to Giordano.

Impact loading

This refers to the extent to which you strain your body while running. “This is very much determined by the capacity of the lower extremity muscles and how they work together to absorb the impact of running,” says Giordano.

The Runeasi sensor also measures cadence (steps per minute) and ground contact time (the time spent with the foot on the ground).

The biomechanical sensor in Runeasi is not dependent on treadmill sessions. You can strap it around your stomach (with the sensor on your sacrum or lower back) and run anywhere. That position is important, says Timothée Vander Linden of Runeasi. Similar tools are often attached to the shoe or lower body, but Runeasi wanted a fuller approach. “If you go too low, if you put sensors on the shoes or on a shin, you’re not going to be as accurate upwards as you would like,” he says. “You also want to know what’s happening in the kinetic chain, and how your lower extremities handle (ground impact), or your lower back or even your core.”

Schütte says this allows the technology to be more individualized and accurate. “You can pick up compensation patterns at the hips, but if you were to do that with the feet or your shins, you would lose a lot of information about how things actually work. your body reacting to running: the speed, the incline, the shoes you’re running in, things like that.”

The Runeasi Test and Results

I was ready to put this system to the test. Setup took just a few taps on Giordano’s tablet, and we headed to New York’s Central Park with nothing but a tablet and my running gear to take an initial measurement. The belt didn’t bother me at all once I tied it around my waist, and I took off through the Central Park Loop for a brisk five-minute jog. There is no special protocol to follow to collect the data, so I ran just like any other day. My hamstring didn’t bother me at all, which made me curious about what exactly I could learn once the Runeasi software was up and running.

I finished and Giordano started the program. The system took just a few minutes to crunch the data and return a personalized report, complete with scores and feedback for each of the three parameters and a larger, overarching recommendation for next steps to improve my runs.

Overall, Giordano told me I was running well. The overall scores were good, all in the ‘green’, meaning I’m in pretty good shape form-wise. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t areas for improvement, and there was one important takeaway from the test: Runeasi knew I had a left leg injury and what imbalances in my stride needed to be compensated. That seemed remarkable to me: even after months of PT and a sense of balance, this little sensor immediately knew my injury history.

Even better, the system provided Giordano with a series of exercises that I could do to help combat that compensation and build strength so that my body can better handle the forces on the ground. We went through those moves right away – and I’m incorporating them into my routine so I can hit the ground even stronger than before.

The leg strengthening exercises

Bodyweight Squat Drop

3 sets of 10 to 15 reps

How to do that:

• Start with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
• Raise your arms above your head and stand on your toes. Hold this position for a while.
• Explode down, land on your heels and descend into a squat. Shoot your arms behind you to emphasize the movement.

Box Get out

3 sets of 10 to 15 reps

How to do that:

• Start standing with both feet on a box, close to the edge or with your toes just outside the edge.
• Step off the box with one foot and step forward, keeping your balance on your other planted leg.
• Lean your torso forward so that your other foot comes off the box so that you land softly with both feet on the ground. Bend your knees to descend into a squat position to absorb the shock. You can raise your hand to help coordinate this movement.
• Get up again.

Rearfoot raised split squat jump

3 sets of 10 to 15 reps

How to do that:

• Start with one foot behind you on a bench or platform. Stand in a position with your front knee at a 90-degree angle. You should aim to keep your shin close to a vertical shin relative to the floor. Your weight should rest in the center of your foot, rather than on your toes or heels.
• Press your front foot off the floor and jump off the floor, pushing your knee up and cycling your arms like a runner. Keep your back foot on the bench.
• Land softly, with your weight in the center of the foot to absorb the shock.

Brett Williams, fitness editor at Men’s Health, is a NASM-CPT certified trainer and former professional football player and tech reporter who divides his training time between strength and conditioning, martial arts and running. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.