Gait analysis in Collinsville, IL. Gait analysis, also referred to as motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare professionals can evaluate your movement to offer better therapy and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury or you’re trying to cope with chronic pain, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed treatment plan that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

Your Collinsville, IL physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Uncover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that causes pain or affects movement health
• Evaluate and monitor treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehabilitate injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Select footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Collinsville, IL, our team of physical therapists are committed to one thing: getting you back to what you love most. If you’re curious if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location nearest you or schedule an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When performed by credentialed physical therapists, gait analysis is an assessment of how you move, specifically how you walk and run. By understanding 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 result of a combination 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 Collinsville, IL 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 Collinsville, IL physical therapist can tailor your treatment and help you achieve the most rewards for your movement health and fitness.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Collinsville, IL

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment by itself, it offers valuable information to your physical therapist about your mobility, allowing them to offer more focused and customized approach. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in Collinsville, IL:

• Athletes searching for a competitive edge — Correct form becomes essential at the highest level of sports. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address muscle imbalances and range of motion limitations, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recuperating from injury — If you’re coming back from 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 recuperating and building strength adequately.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, in a slip and fall, or underwent recent surgery, you don’t have to be an athlete to experience positives from gait analysis in facilitating your recuperation from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced vet, gait analysis can aid you in discovering the appropriate footwear, which, along with further insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, conserve energy, and reduce the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly interrupt 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 also help you in acclimating to your new device and optimizing its performance and comfort.
• People with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can greatly affect our daily functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, assess treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally lose strength as we age. This may lead to 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 sore joints, minimize injury risks, and assess the cognitive and motor aspects of movement health.

Regardless of why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s aiming to eventually run that marathon or just engage in your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Collinsville, IL will employ gait analysis to customize your treatment, maximize your care, and assist you in getting back to the experiences you love.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are generally two primary types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this method entails a physical therapist directly observing your gait as you walk and via video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to gain a overall assessment of your movement health and readily identify any observable 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 offer objective, measurable data concerning your gait. By utilizing precise numerical values, it enables more detailed analysis and monitoring of your improvement over time.

Both qualitative and instrument-assisted gait analysis are appropriate in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Collinsville, IL possesses the capacity and knowledge to tailor our gait analysis services to meet your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Collinsville, IL

At Axes, our primary aim is achieving positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in getting back to what they love most. To accomplish this, we make use of every possible tool to support our patients in Collinsville, IL. When conducting gait analysis in Collinsville, IL, our experienced physical therapists employ innovative DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are attached to your body that track your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software translates that algorithmic information 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 successful, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously monitored over time and compared against the normal population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Collinsville, IL

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to delivering our Collinsville, IL patients with successful, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that suit their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be included in your personalized treatment plan:

• To start the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll perform a comprehensive history taking and assessment to understand your objectives, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll form a partnership with you and your doctor, including the findings of gait analysis into your all-encompassing treatment approach, improving your movement health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been validated through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in picking appropriate 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 employ gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and indicators, to continuously evaluate your growth and adapt your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes delivers far more than simply a series of exercises to check off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and state-of-the-art technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a specialized team of physical therapists in Collinsville, IL who are determined to deliver excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Collinsville, IL 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 Collinsville, IL Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly improve your overall well-being and movement health, regardless of whether that means soaring down the court or going up stairs without pain. As we are committed to offering personalized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re one of the few clinics in the Collinsville, IL area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to improve your movement health, get in touch with the nearest Axes location or contact us online to determine if gait analysis in Collinsville, IL is suitable for you.