Gait analysis in Black Jack, 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 care and get you back to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury or you’re trying to cope with arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed therapy program that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

Your Black Jack, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that leads to pain or influences movement health
• Measure and follow treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehab injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Choose footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Black Jack, MO, our staff of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you enjoy most. If you’re curious if gait analysis is right for you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or schedule an appointment online 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 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 multitude 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 Black Jack, 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 precise insights into your gait, your Black Jack, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Black Jack, 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 specific and personalized approach. As such, gait analysis can be advantageous for a wide range of people in Black Jack, MO:

• Athletes searching for a competitive advantage — Correct form becomes increasingly important at the peak of competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address muscle imbalances and restricted mobility, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recovering from injury — If you’re coming off an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to monitor how your recovery’s going and confirm that your body is healing and gaining strength adequately.
• 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 advantages from gait analysis in assisting your recovery from injury.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced vet, gait analysis can aid you in finding the right footwear, which, coupled with other insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, conserve energy, and lower the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can greatly impede your mobility health, in addition to resulting in phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices specifically designed to your body and lifestyle. It can also help you in acclimating to your new device and optimizing its function and comfort.
• Those with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can profoundly affect our daily lives and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to monitor disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and shape rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently weaken as we age. This can cause an heightened risk of falling for older adults, along with degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can be beneficial in finding ways to alleviate pressure on aching joints, reduce injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

Regardless of the reason you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to finally run that marathon or simply enjoy your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Black Jack, MO will employ gait analysis to customize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in returning to the activities you enjoy.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are commonly two primary types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this approach entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait in real time and through video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to gain a overall assessment of your mobility health and easily spot any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the clinical expertise of the therapist to make assessments.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this method employs advanced technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to provide objective, quantifiable data about your gait. By employing precise numerical values, it allows more in-depth analysis and tracking of your improvement over a period of time.

Both clinical and instrument-assisted gait analysis are appropriate in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Black Jack, MO possesses the capacity and knowledge to customize our gait analysis services to fulfill your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Black Jack, MO

At Axes, our primary objective is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in getting back to what they love most. To accomplish this, we employ every available tool that can help our patients in Black Jack, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Black Jack, MO, our experienced physical therapists employ state-of-the-art DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that track your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software translates that algorithmic information into valuable information that your physical therapist can review
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to aid a more thorough analysis and breakdown of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to recommend effective, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and evaluated against the average population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Black Jack, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to delivering our Black Jack, MO patients with successful, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that suit their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your customized treatment plan:

• To get started, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be beneficial for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll perform a thorough patient interview and physical examination to gain insight into your objectives, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll form a team with you and your doctor, integrating the findings of gait analysis into your comprehensive treatment approach, improving your movement health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll create personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll assist you in selecting proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on maintaining proper posture and improving movement health, drawing on insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll leverage gait analysis, together with other measurable data and markers, to continuously assess your growth and adjust your treatment plan as necessary.

Axes provides far more than simply a list of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and cutting-edge technologies at our disposal, Axes offers a committed team of physical therapists in Black Jack, MO who are driven to provide the best results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Black Jack, MO include:

• 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
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

Call Axes’ for Your Gait Analysis in Black Jack, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can positively enhance your overall well-being and movement health, whether that means soaring down the court or going up stairs without pain. As we are committed to providing individualized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re the few clinics in the Black Jack, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to enhance your movement health, contact the nearest Axes location or contact us online to ascertain if gait analysis in Black Jack, MO is appropriate for you.