Gait analysis in Concord, MO. Gait analysis, alongside video motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare professionals can assess your movement to offer better therapy and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete healing from an injury or you’re trying to manage chronic pain, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed treatment plan that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Uncover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or influences 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 Concord, MO, our staff of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re curious if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location most convenient for you or make an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by credentialed physical therapists, gait analysis is an evaluation 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 progress 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 Concord, 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 Concord, MO physical therapist can tailor your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Concord, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a therapy by itself, it offers valuable data to your physical therapist about your mobility, allowing them to offer more focused and customized treatment. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Concord, MO:

• Athletes looking for a performance boost — Proper form becomes vital at the zenith of sports. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify strength imbalances and restricted mobility, and prevent injury.
• Athletes healing from injury — If you’re coming off an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to track your progress and verify that your body is recovering and building strength correctly.
• 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 recuperation from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re a seasoned veteran, gait analysis can help you in identifying the suitable footwear, which, coupled with additional insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, save energy, and minimize the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can greatly disrupt your mobility health, in addition to causing phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices tailored to your body and lifestyle. It can also assist you in acclimating to your new device and optimizing its function and comfort.
• People suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can significantly affect our everyday functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably lose strength as we age. This can result in an increased risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can offer support in finding ways to relieve pressure on aching joints, reduce injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor aspects of movement health.

Regardless of why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s striving to eventually run that marathon or just enjoy your day-to-day life without discomfort, Axes’ licensed therapists in Concord, MO will apply gait analysis to personalize your treatment, optimize your care, and assist you in getting back to the activities you enjoy.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are commonly two major types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this approach entails a physical therapist personally watching your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a overall overview of your mobility health and readily spot any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the professional judgment of the therapist to draw conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this technique employs specialized technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to provide objective, quantifiable data concerning your gait. By employing precise numerical values, it allows greater detailed analysis and monitoring of your progress over a period of time.

Both clinical and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Concord, MO possesses the capabilities and expertise to customize our gait analysis services to fulfill your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Concord, MO

At Axes, our primary goal 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 Concord, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Concord, MO, our expert physical therapists utilize advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer both qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are positioned on your body that track your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that algorithmic information into helpful information that your physical therapist can examine
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to enable a more comprehensive analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to prescribe effective, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and compared against the typical population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Concord, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is dedicated to providing our Concord, MO patients with effective, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that fit their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be part of your customized treatment plan:

• To start the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis might be beneficial for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a comprehensive patient interview and physical examination to gain insight into your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll form a team with you and your doctor, including the results of gait analysis into your comprehensive treatment approach, optimizing your mobility health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in choosing suitable footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on sustaining proper posture and improving movement health, utilizing insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll use gait analysis, alongside other quantitative data and indicators, to constantly assess your growth and modify your treatment plan as needed.

Axes delivers a lot more than simply a list of exercises to complete. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and advanced technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a committed team of physical therapists in Concord, MO who are motivated to provide excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Concord, 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 Concord, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly improve your overall well-being and movement health, whether that involves flying down the field or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are dedicated to offering customized, evidence-based treatment plans, we are the few clinics in the Concord, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to optimize your movement health, reach out to the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Concord, MO is right for you.