Gait Analysis in East St. Louis, IL | Physical & Occupational Therapy

Gait analysis in East St. Louis, IL. Gait analysis, also called motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare providers can evaluate your movement to offer personalized care and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury or you’re trying to handle chronic pain, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed treatment plan that’s personalized for your lifestyle and goals.

Your East St. Louis, IL physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

Identify and manage gait disorders
Uncover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or affects movement health
Measure and follow 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 East St. Louis, IL, our team of physical therapists are committed to 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 schedule an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by licensed physical therapists, gait analysis is an evaluation of how you move, specifically how you walk and run. By understanding 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 affecting your movement health.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in East St. Louis, 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 precise insights into your gait, your East St. Louis, IL physical therapist can personalize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in East St. Louis, IL

While gait analysis isn’t a therapy by itself, it offers valuable insights to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more specific and personalized care. As such, gait analysis can be advantageous for a wide range of people in East St. Louis, IL:

Athletes looking for a performance boost — Proper form becomes crucial at the highest level of competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify muscle imbalances and restricted mobility, and prevent injury.
Athletes recuperating from injury — If you’re recovering from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to track your progress and ensure that your body is healing and building strength correctly.
Anyone else 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 positives from gait analysis in facilitating your recovery from injury.
Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re a seasoned runner, gait analysis can aid you in discovering the suitable footwear, which, together with further insights from gait analysis, can boost your speed, conserve energy, and reduce the chance of injury.
Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly impede your mobility health, in addition to causing phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices specifically designed to your body and lifestyle. It can furthermore assist you in adapting to your new device and maximizing its performance and convenience.
Those with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can profoundly impact our daily functioning and movement health. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
Older adults — Our bodies inherently lose strength as we age. This may lead to an heightened risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can offer support in identifying ways to alleviate pressure on sore joints, reduce injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to eventually run that marathon or just enjoy your day-to-day life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in East St. Louis, IL 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 commonly two primary types of gait analysis:

Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this technique entails a physical therapist directly observing your gait as you walk and via video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a overall overview of your movement health and readily identify any apparent patterns. Qualitative gait analysis utilizes the professional judgment of the therapist to reach conclusions.
Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this technique employs specialized technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to provide objective, measurable data about your gait. By using precise numerical values, it enables more thorough analysis and tracking of your progress over a period of time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are appropriate in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in East St. Louis, IL possesses the capabilities and expertise to tailor our gait analysis services to address your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in East St. Louis, IL

At Axes, our primary focus is delivering positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in returning to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we utilize every available tool to support our patients in East St. Louis, IL. When conducting gait analysis in East St. Louis, IL, our expert physical therapists employ advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined 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 translates that complex data into useful information that your physical therapist can review
During video replay, your movements are slowed down to facilitate a more detailed analysis and breakdown of your motion
Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their professional observations to prescribe effective, evidence-based treatment modalities
Your progress is regularly tracked over time and compared against the average population as well as your prior sessions

Gait Analysis in East St. Louis, IL | Injury Rehab and Prevention | Physical and Occupational Therapists Near East St. Louis

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in East St. Louis, IL

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to offering our East St. Louis, IL patients with successful, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that align with their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your customized treatment plan:

To get started, ask your doctor if gait analysis may be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
We’ll conduct a thorough patient interview and assessment to understand your objectives, preferences, and health background.
We’ll build a partnership with you and your doctor, integrating the insights from 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 effectiveness.
In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in picking proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on maintaining proper posture and improving movement health, incorporating insights gained from gait analysis.
We’ll use gait analysis, alongside other quantitative information and indicators, to consistently review your progress and adjust your treatment plan as needed.

Axes delivers far more than simply a list of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and state-of-the-art technologies at our disposal, Axes provides a specialized team of physical therapists in East St. Louis, IL who are motivated to deliver excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in East St. Louis, IL include:

Call Axes’ for Your Gait Analysis in East St. Louis, IL Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly contribute to your overall health and performance, whether that means gliding down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are dedicated to providing personalized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re among the limited number of clinics in the East St. Louis, IL 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 East St. Louis, IL is appropriate for you.

Gait Analysis East St. Louis, IL