Gait analysis in Barnhart, MO. Gait analysis, alongside video motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare professionals to assess your mobility to offer personalized treatment and get you back to the things you enjoy most. Whether you’re an athlete recovering from an injury or you’re trying to handle chronic pain, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed plan of care that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

Your Barnhart, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Identify and manage gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that leads to pain or affects movement health
• Assess and track treatment outcomes
• Prevent and recover from injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Find footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Barnhart, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you enjoy most. If you’re curious if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location nearest you or schedule an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out 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 walk and run, 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 multitude of factors – strength, flexibility, coordination, vision, the vestibular system – gait analysis can provide a valuable look at your overall movement health.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in Barnhart, 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 exact understanding of your gait, your Barnhart, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Barnhart, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment by itself, it provides important information to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more targeted and personalized treatment. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in Barnhart, MO:

• Athletes seeking a competitive advantage — Correct form becomes vital at the zenith of sports. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify muscle imbalances and range of motion limitations, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recovering from injury — If you’re coming back from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to track your progress and ensure that your body is recuperating and developing strength adequately.
• Others recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, involved in a car accident, or underwent recent surgery, you don’t have to be an athlete to experience advantages from gait analysis in facilitating your recovery from injury.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced veteran, gait analysis can assist you in identifying the right footwear, which, together with additional insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, preserve energy, and lower the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can greatly impede your mobility health, as well as resulting in phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices tailored to your body and lifestyle. It can additionally support you in adapting to your new device and maximizing its performance and comfort.
• People suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can greatly influence our daily lives and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and shape rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably 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 relieve pressure on sore joints, minimize injury risks, and assess the cognitive and motor facets of mobility health.

No matter the reason you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s striving to ultimately run that marathon or simply enjoy your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Barnhart, MO will employ gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in getting back to the experiences you love.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are generally two main types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this method entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait as you walk and via video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to obtain a general assessment of your mobility health and easily detect any observable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the professional judgment of the therapist to reach conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this technique employs advanced technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to deliver objective, measurable data concerning your gait. By using precise numerical values, it allows greater in-depth analysis and monitoring of your improvement over a period of time.

Both qualitative and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Barnhart, MO has the ability and knowledge to customize our gait analysis services to fulfill your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Barnhart, MO

At Axes, our main focus is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in returning to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we employ every available tool to support our patients in Barnhart, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Barnhart, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists utilize advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide combined qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are positioned on your body that track your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software translates that complicated data into useful information that your physical therapist can examine
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to enable a more detailed analysis and breakdown of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their clinical observations to recommend efficient, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly monitored over time and evaluated against the average population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Barnhart, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to providing our Barnhart, MO patients with successful, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that suit their lifestyles and objectives. Gait analysis can be part of your personalized treatment plan:

• To start the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll perform a detailed patient interview and physical examination to understand your goals, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a partnership with you and your doctor, integrating the findings of gait analysis into your comprehensive treatment approach, improving your mobility health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been validated through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll assist you in picking suitable footwear, braces, or other devices, while educating you on achieving proper posture and optimizing movement health, drawing on insights gained from gait analysis.
• We’ll employ gait analysis, alongside other measurable information and indicators, to constantly evaluate your progress and adjust your treatment plan as needed.

Axes offers a lot more than simply a series of exercises to check off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and state-of-the-art technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a specialized team of physical therapists in Barnhart, MO who are motivated to provide optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Barnhart, MO include:

• Back Pain Treatment
• 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

Call Axes’ for Your Gait Analysis in Barnhart, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly enhance your overall health and movement health, whether that means moving down the court or going up stairs without pain. As we are committed to providing personalized treatment plans that are proven to work, we’re the limited number of clinics in the Barnhart, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to enhance your movement health, contact the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Barnhart, MO is suitable for you.