Gait analysis in Dutzow, MO. Gait analysis, also called motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare providers can assess your mobility 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 arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed treatment plan that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Find out underlying musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that leads to pain or influences movement health
• Evaluate and monitor 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 Dutzow, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you enjoy most. If you’re wondering if gait analysis can help 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 done by licensed 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 variety 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 Dutzow, 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 a exact understanding of your gait, your Dutzow, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Dutzow, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment by itself, it provides valuable information to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more focused and customized care. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in Dutzow, MO:

• Athletes looking for a competitive edge in their sport — Proper form becomes crucial at the highest level of sports. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address muscle 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 your progress and confirm that your body is healing and developing strength properly.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, in a slip and fall, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to derive benefits from gait analysis in assisting your recuperation from injury.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re a seasoned veteran, gait analysis can aid you in finding the suitable footwear, which, coupled with further insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, save energy, and reduce the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically interrupt your movement 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 additionally support you in adapting to your new device and optimizing its performance and comfort.
• Those with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can greatly influence our day-to-day lives and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to track disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and direct rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably lose strength as we age. This can result in an heightened risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can offer support in finding ways to alleviate pressure on painful joints, reduce injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor facets of movement health.

No matter the reason you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to ultimately run that marathon or just engage in your day-to-day life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Dutzow, MO will utilize gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and assist you in returning to the pursuits you love.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are generally two major types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this method entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to acquire a overall overview of your movement health and easily detect any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the professional judgment of the therapist to make assessments.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this approach employs advanced technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to provide objective, measurable data about your gait. By employing precise numerical values, it allows greater in-depth analysis and tracking of your improvement over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are appropriate in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Dutzow, MO possesses the ability and expertise to personalize our gait analysis services to fulfill your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Dutzow, MO

At Axes, our main aim is delivering positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in getting back to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we utilize every possible tool to support our patients in Dutzow, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Dutzow, MO, our experienced physical therapists employ advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are attached to your body that monitor your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that algorithmic information into useful 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 combines these insights with their professional observations to prescribe effective, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and evaluated against the typical population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Dutzow, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is dedicated to offering our Dutzow, MO patients with successful, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that fit their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be included in your customized treatment plan:

• To start the process, talk to your doctor to assess if gait analysis could be helpful for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll perform a detailed history taking and assessment to understand your objectives, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, incorporating the findings of gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, improving your movement health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll create personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their effectiveness.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in selecting proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on achieving proper posture and optimizing movement health, drawing on insights obtained from gait analysis.
• We’ll use gait analysis, alongside other measurable information and indicators, to constantly evaluate your progress and adapt your treatment plan as needed.

Axes delivers much more than just a series of exercises to check off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and innovative technologies at our fingertips, Axes provides a committed team of physical therapists in Dutzow, MO who are determined to provide excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Dutzow, 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 Dutzow, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly improve your overall well-being and performance, whether that involves gliding down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are committed to providing customized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re among the limited number of clinics in the Dutzow, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to improve your movement health, call the nearest Axes location or contact us online to ascertain if gait analysis in Dutzow, MO is appropriate for you.