Gait analysis in All Saints Village, MO. Gait analysis, alongside video motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners to assess your movement to offer better therapy and get you back to the things you enjoy most. Whether you’re an athlete recovering from an injury or you’re trying to manage chronic pain, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed therapy program that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

Your All Saints Village, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Discover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that causes pain or impacts movement health
• Assess and track treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehab injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Select footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in All Saints Village, MO, our staff of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you love most. If you’re wondering if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location most convenient for you or request an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When performed by qualified physical therapists, gait analysis is an assessment of how you move, specifically how you walk and run. By gaining precise information about how you move, your physical therapist can offer insights into muscle imbalances, injury risks, the status of injury rehabilitation, and more. Because our gaits our the product of a variety of factors – strength, flexibility, coordination, vision, the vestibular system – gait analysis can provide a valuable look at what may be affecting your movement health.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in All Saints Village, MO will look at:

• Step length and width
• Cadence (number of steps taken per minute)
• Foot and ankle alignment to see if you have tendencies towards pronation (inward rolling) or supination (outward rolling)
• Joint movement and range of motion
• Movement of the pelvis to see if there is excessive rotating or titling
• Stability, balance, and body sway (the amount of lateral movement)
• Step repeatability (the similarity of your steps)

With a precise understanding of your gait, your All Saints Village, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get the most benefit for your movement health and fitness.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in All Saints Village, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a therapy by itself, it offers essential insights to your physical therapist about your mobility, allowing them to offer more specific and personalized treatment. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in All Saints Village, MO:

• Athletes searching for a competitive advantage — Correct form becomes increasingly important at the pinnacle of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address strength imbalances and range of motion limitations, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recovering from injury — If you’re recovering from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to monitor how your recovery’s going and ensure that your body is recuperating and gaining strength appropriately.
• Others recovering from injury — Whether you were injured on the job, in a slip and fall, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to gain benefits from gait analysis in assisting your recovery from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re a seasoned vet, gait analysis can help you in finding the appropriate footwear, which, along with additional insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, preserve energy, and minimize the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically interrupt your movement health, along with causing phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices specifically designed to your body and lifestyle. It can furthermore support you in adapting to your new device and maximizing its performance and comfort.
• Those with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can significantly impact our daily functioning and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to track disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally weaken as we age. This may lead to an increased risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in identifying ways to alleviate pressure on sore joints, mitigate injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor aspects of movement health.

Regardless of the reason you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s striving to ultimately run that marathon or just engage in your day-to-day life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in All Saints Village, MO will utilize gait analysis to customize your treatment, optimize your care, and assist you in getting back to the activities you cherish.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are typically two primary types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this technique entails a physical therapist directly observing your gait in real time and via video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to acquire a broad assessment of your mobility health and easily detect any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis utilizes the professional judgment of the therapist to draw conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this method employs specialized technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to provide objective, measurable data concerning your gait. By using precise numerical values, it enables greater detailed analysis and tracking of your improvement over time.

Both clinical and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in All Saints Village, MO has the capabilities and knowledge to tailor our gait analysis services to fulfill your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in All Saints Village, MO

At Axes, our primary aim is delivering positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in returning to what they love most. To accomplish this, we make use of every possible tool to support our patients in All Saints Village, MO. When conducting gait analysis in All Saints Village, MO, our experienced physical therapists employ cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide combined qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are attached to your body that track your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that hard data into valuable information that your physical therapist can review
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to facilitate a more detailed analysis and examination of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to prescribe successful, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and evaluated against the average population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in All Saints Village, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to offering our All Saints Village, MO patients with effective, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that fit their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your customized treatment plan:

• To get started, talk to your doctor to determine if gait analysis may be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a comprehensive patient interview and physical examination to understand your objectives, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll build a partnership with you and your doctor, incorporating the results of gait analysis into your comprehensive treatment approach, optimizing your mobility health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been validated through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in picking suitable footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on maintaining proper posture and improving movement health, drawing on insights gained from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, together with other measurable information and indicators, to continuously evaluate your progress and adjust your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes offers a lot more than just a series of exercises to complete. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and advanced technologies at our fingertips, Axes provides a committed team of physical therapists in All Saints Village, MO who are motivated to provide the best results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in All Saints Village, MO include:

• Neck Pain Treatment
• Physical Therapy Clinic
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation

Call Axes’ for Your Gait Analysis in All Saints Village, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can positively enhance your overall well-being and performance, regardless of whether that involves soaring down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are committed to providing customized, evidence-based treatment plans, we are among the few clinics in the All Saints Village, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to improve your movement health, contact the nearest Axes location or contact us online to determine if gait analysis in All Saints Village, MO is right for you.