Gait analysis in Dellwood, MO. Gait analysis, also called motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare providers can evaluate your mobility to offer better treatment and get you back to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete healing from an injury or you’re trying to cope with arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed treatment plan that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Discover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that causes pain or influences 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 Dellwood, MO, our staff of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you enjoy most. If you’re wondering if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location nearest you or make an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When done 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 recovery, 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 your overall movement health.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in Dellwood, 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 Dellwood, MO 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 Dellwood, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method by itself, it provides essential insights to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more targeted and customized care. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Dellwood, MO:

• Athletes searching for a performance boost — Proper form becomes increasingly important at the highest level of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify strength imbalances and limited range of motion, 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 monitor your progress and ensure that your body is healing and gaining strength properly.
• Anyone else 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 derive advantages from gait analysis in aiding your recovery from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced runner, gait analysis can help you in discovering the suitable footwear, which, along with additional insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, preserve energy, and reduce the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly impede your mobility health, as well as causing phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices customized to your body and lifestyle. It can also 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 other conditions can profoundly influence our daily functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to monitor disease progression, assess treatment effectiveness, and shape rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally lose strength as we age. This may lead to an increased risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in identifying ways to alleviate pressure on painful joints, minimize injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor facets of mobility health.

No matter the reason you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s aiming to ultimately run that marathon or simply enjoy your day-to-day life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Dellwood, MO will employ gait analysis to personalize your treatment, optimize your care, and help you in returning to the pursuits you enjoy.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are typically two primary types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this method entails a physical therapist personally observing your gait in real time and through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to obtain a broad overview of your movement health and easily detect any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the clinical expertise of the therapist to reach conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this method employs specific technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to provide objective, measurable data concerning your gait. By using precise numerical values, it allows greater detailed analysis and tracking of your improvement over a period of time.

Both qualitative and instrument-assisted gait analysis are appropriate in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Dellwood, MO has the capacity and knowledge to customize our gait analysis services to meet your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Dellwood, MO

At Axes, our main goal is delivering positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in returning to what they love most. To accomplish this, we utilize every possible tool that can help our patients in Dellwood, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Dellwood, MO, our expert physical therapists employ state-of-the-art DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer both qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are attached to your body that track your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software converts that complex data into helpful information that your physical therapist can examine
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to aid a more detailed analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to prescribe efficient, evidence-based 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 Dellwood, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to delivering our Dellwood, MO patients with successful, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that align with their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your personalized treatment plan:

• To get started, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be beneficial for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll carry out a comprehensive patient interview and physical examination to understand your goals, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll form a partnership with you and your doctor, including the results of gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, enhancing your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been proven through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their success.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll assist you in choosing appropriate footwear, braces, or other devices, while informing you on maintaining proper posture and enhancing movement health, drawing on insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, alongside other measurable data and markers, to constantly review your progress and adjust your treatment plan as necessary.

Axes delivers a lot more than simply a list of exercises to check off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and cutting-edge technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a committed team of physical therapists in Dellwood, MO who are determined to provide optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Dellwood, 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 Dellwood, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly improve your overall health and performance, regardless of whether that means soaring down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are committed to offering personalized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re one of the limited number of clinics in the Dellwood, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to optimize your movement health, call the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Dellwood, MO is suitable for you.