Gait analysis in Bloomsdale, MO. Gait analysis, in combination with video motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners to examine your movement to offer better care and get you back to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete healing from an injury or you’re trying to handle arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed plan of care that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or affects movement health
• Measure and follow 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 Bloomsdale, MO, our staff of physical therapists are dedicated to one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re wondering if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location nearest you or request an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When done by professional physical therapists, gait analysis is an evaluation 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 progress of injury rehabilitation, and more. Because our gaits our the result of a variety of factors – strength, flexibility, coordination, vision, the vestibular system – gait analysis can provide a valuable look at what may be keeping you from living the life you want.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in Bloomsdale, 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 Bloomsdale, MO physical therapist can personalize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Bloomsdale, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a therapy by itself, it provides valuable data to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more focused and personalized treatment. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in Bloomsdale, MO:

• Athletes looking for a competitive advantage — Correct form becomes increasingly important at the zenith of competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify strength imbalances and limited range of motion, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recuperating from injury — If you’re coming off an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to track how your recovery’s going and ensure that your body is recuperating and building strength adequately.
• Others recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, involved in a car accident, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to derive advantages from gait analysis in assisting your recuperation from injury.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced vet, gait analysis can assist you in discovering the suitable footwear, which, together with additional insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, conserve energy, and lower the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can greatly disrupt your movement health, along with causing phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices tailored to your body and lifestyle. It can additionally assist you in adapting to your new device and maximizing its performance and convenience.
• Those suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can greatly impact our daily functioning and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably lose strength as we age. This can cause an elevated risk of falling for older adults, along with degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in discovering ways to relieve pressure on aching joints, mitigate injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor facets of movement health.

No matter why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s working to ultimately run that marathon or simply enjoy your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Bloomsdale, MO will apply gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and assist you in returning to the experiences you cherish.

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 technique entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to acquire a broad overview of your mobility health and readily detect any observable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis utilizes the clinical expertise of the therapist to reach conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this technique employs specialized technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to offer objective, quantifiable data regarding your gait. By using precise numerical values, it allows more in-depth analysis and tracking of your progress over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are appropriate in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Bloomsdale, MO has the capacity and knowledge to personalize our gait analysis services to meet your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Bloomsdale, MO

At Axes, our primary objective is achieving positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in returning to what they love most. To accomplish this, we utilize every possible tool that can help our patients in Bloomsdale, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Bloomsdale, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists utilize cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide both qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that monitor your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that complex data into useful information that your physical therapist can analyze
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to facilitate a more thorough analysis and breakdown of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist integrates these insights with their clinical observations to prescribe effective, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly monitored over time and compared against the average population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Bloomsdale, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to providing our Bloomsdale, MO patients with successful, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that suit their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be included in your personalized treatment plan:

• To begin the process, consult your doctor to evaluate if gait analysis may be helpful for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a thorough patient interview and assessment to gain insight into your goals, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, integrating the findings of gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, enhancing your mobility health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been proven through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their success.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in choosing suitable footwear, braces, or other devices, while informing you on maintaining proper posture and optimizing movement health, incorporating insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll employ gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and indicators, to constantly evaluate your growth and modify your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes offers a lot more than simply a series of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and cutting-edge technologies at our disposal, Axes provides a specialized team of physical therapists in Bloomsdale, MO who are determined to provide excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Bloomsdale, 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 Bloomsdale, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can positively contribute to your overall health and movement health, whether that involves soaring down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are dedicated to providing customized, evidence-based treatment plans, we are the few clinics in the Bloomsdale, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to improve your movement health, reach out to the nearest Axes location or contact us online to ascertain if gait analysis in Bloomsdale, MO is right for you.