Hovr question

curds
curds Posts: 201 Member
edited July 2018 in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

I stumbled upon the HOVR shoe and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if it gives you a breakdown for each leg?

My bf's right side is weak so he's gait is off and he's run is a bit awkward. He started running last year, but he stopped. If the HOVR can show that he's right leg is improving though we would be a lot more motivated to run. We both prefer other exercises, but I think running could very well be the best way to improve his walk.

If the HOVR doesn't show your performance for each leg is there anything else that does?

Replies

  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    So it sounds like what he might need is a consultation with a physical therapist in order to accurately determine how best to address the weakness.

    In terms of the HOVR shoe, these shoes don't do anything that a pair of garmin footpods can't and they can do far less than a pair of Milestone foot pods which a. are cheaper than a pair of the HOVRs and b. will outlast them. Given that all the HOVR appears to do is track distance and cadence I don't know how you would be able to figure out if his right leg is improving in terms of being it to run and not prone to giving him an injury via the strength imbalance.

    The only logical way I could thing of really testing that would be via working with a physical therapist and testing the strength of both of his legs via an isokinetic test. You would then be able to really compare the strength of his quads and hamstrings on both the right and left sides. Otherwise it's just a guessing game.

    The other major issue I have with the idea of getting him in the HOVR shoes is that they might not actually be appropriate for him in terms of running shoes more broadly. And again, even if they are, it's a piece of throw-away tech. The shoes will run out and you won't be able to retrieve the running pod that is embedded in the shoe.

    All that said, if you want more information on running metrics via running/foot pods here are two posts from the DC Rainmaker blog. Note, I don't think there's an longitudinal data (or data period) that has informed studies/methodologies on how to use running power for tracking injury rehab or muscle imbalances.
  • curds
    curds Posts: 201 Member
    Thanks, he's been to multiple doctors and the answer is always to do the same exercises, but in my opinion it's just going to get him as far as he is now. I've been googling hemiplegic (one sided numb/weakness) exercises, but I feel those are too basic for a lack of a better word for him.

    I'll give the HOVR a miss then. He has no pain running and he can run, but due to his right side being weaker/numb it comes out more like a hop, but sometimes I can swear he's running normally, but then it disappears and he hops again so I guess I was just hoping for too much. I read that the HOVR tracks cadence, stride and a bunch other stuff.

    Anyway thanks for saving me some money!

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