Gait analysis in Edwardsville, IL. Gait analysis, also referred to as motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare providers can examine your mobility to offer personalized treatment and return you to the things you love most. Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury or you’re trying to manage chronic pain, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed therapy program that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Identify and manage gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that leads to pain or affects 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 Edwardsville, IL, our staff of physical therapists are committed to one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re curious if gait analysis is right for you, call the Axes’ location nearest you or request an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When performed by professional 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 product of a multitude 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 Edwardsville, 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 exact understanding of your gait, your Edwardsville, IL physical therapist can personalize your treatment and help you get the most benefit for your movement health and fitness.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Edwardsville, IL

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment in and of itself, it provides crucial insights to your physical therapist about your mobility, allowing them to offer more targeted and personalized approach. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in Edwardsville, IL:

• Athletes searching for a competitive edge — Correct form becomes increasingly important at the peak of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify strength 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 track your progress and verify that your body is recovering and developing strength adequately.
• Others recovering from injury — Whether you were injured on the job, involved in a car accident, or had to get surgery, 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 an experienced vet, gait analysis can help you in identifying the appropriate footwear, which, together with further insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, save energy, and lower the chance of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically disrupt your movement health, along with 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 support you in adapting to your new device and optimizing its performance and convenience.
• Those suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can profoundly affect our day-to-day lives and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and shape rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably lose strength as we age. This can cause an increased risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in identifying ways to relieve pressure on painful joints, mitigate injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s working to eventually run that marathon or simply enjoy your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Edwardsville, IL will apply gait analysis to personalize your treatment, optimize your care, and help you in returning to the activities you enjoy.

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 approach entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait in real time and via video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to acquire a broad assessment of your mobility health and easily detect any observable 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 approach employs advanced technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to offer objective, measurable data about your gait. By using precise numerical values, it enables more thorough analysis and tracking of your improvement over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are appropriate in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Edwardsville, IL has the capacity and expertise to personalize our gait analysis services to meet your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Edwardsville, IL

At Axes, our main aim is delivering positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in getting back to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we make use of every available tool to support our patients in Edwardsville, IL. When conducting gait analysis in Edwardsville, IL, our highly skilled physical therapists employ innovative DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide both qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that monitor your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that algorithmic information into helpful information that your physical therapist can review
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to aid a more comprehensive analysis and examination of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to recommend effective, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly monitored over time and evaluated against the typical population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Edwardsville, IL

Axes Physical Therapy is dedicated to delivering our Edwardsville, IL patients with successful, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that suit their lifestyles and goals. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your personalized treatment plan:

• To start the process, talk to your doctor to assess if gait analysis may be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll perform a detailed history taking and assessment to gain insight into your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a partnership with you and your doctor, integrating the results of gait analysis into your all-encompassing treatment approach, enhancing your movement health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in selecting appropriate footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on achieving proper posture and improving movement health, incorporating insights obtained from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, together with other measurable information and indicators, to consistently review your growth and adapt your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes provides much more than simply a series of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and innovative technologies at our disposal, Axes provides a specialized team of physical therapists in Edwardsville, IL who are determined to deliver the best results in your treatment.

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

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly improve your overall well-being and movement health, whether that means soaring down the court or climbing stairs without pain. As we are committed to providing individualized treatment plans that are proven to work, we are the limited number of clinics in the Edwardsville, IL 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 determine if gait analysis in Edwardsville, IL is suitable for you.