Gait analysis in Farmington, MO. Gait analysis, also called motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare providers to examine your movement to offer personalized therapy and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete recovering 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 tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Identify and manage gait disorders
• Find out underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that leads to pain or affects movement health
• Evaluate and monitor treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehabilitate injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Find footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Farmington, MO, our staff of physical therapists are committed to one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re wondering if gait analysis is right for you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or request an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When done by credentialed physical therapists, gait analysis is an assessment of how you move, specifically how you walk and run. By gaining precise information about how you walk and run, 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 what may be keeping you from living the life you want.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in Farmington, 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 accurate understanding of your gait, your Farmington, MO physical therapist can personalize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Farmington, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment by itself, it offers valuable insights to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more specific and personalized treatment. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in Farmington, MO:

• Athletes seeking a competitive edge in their sport — Correct form becomes vital at the pinnacle of competition. 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 monitor how your recovery’s going and confirm that your body is recuperating and developing strength adequately.
• Others 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 benefits from gait analysis in aiding your recovery from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re a seasoned runner, gait analysis can aid you in identifying the appropriate footwear, which, along with further insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, save energy, and reduce the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly disrupt your mobility health, along with 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 help you in adjusting 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 everyday lives and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently weaken as we age. This can result in an heightened risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can be beneficial in discovering ways to relieve pressure on aching joints, minimize injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

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

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are typically two main types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this approach entails a physical therapist personally observing your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a broad assessment of your mobility health and easily identify any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis utilizes the clinical expertise of the therapist to make assessments.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this technique employs advanced technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to deliver objective, quantifiable data concerning your gait. By utilizing precise numerical values, it allows more in-depth analysis and tracking of your improvement over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are suitable in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Farmington, MO has the ability and expertise to customize our gait analysis services to meet your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Farmington, MO

At Axes, our main objective is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in getting back to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we make use of every available tool that can help our patients in Farmington, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Farmington, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists utilize cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that record your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that algorithmic information into helpful information that your physical therapist can analyze
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to enable a more detailed analysis and examination of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their clinical observations to recommend successful, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and compared against the average population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Farmington, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is dedicated to offering our Farmington, MO patients with successful, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that fit their lifestyles and goals. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your customized treatment plan:

• To start the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis may be beneficial for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a comprehensive history taking and assessment to understand your objectives, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll create a partnership with you and your doctor, including the findings of gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, optimizing your mobility health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been validated through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in choosing proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on achieving proper posture and enhancing movement health, drawing on insights gained from gait analysis.
• We’ll employ gait analysis, alongside other quantitative information and markers, to continuously assess your progress and adjust your treatment plan as needed.

Axes offers much more than just a series of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and advanced technologies at our disposal, Axes offers a dedicated team of physical therapists in Farmington, MO who are driven to provide optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Farmington, 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 Farmington, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly enhance your overall health and movement health, whether that means flying down the field or going up stairs without pain. As we are committed to providing customized treatment plans that are proven to work, we’re one of the few clinics in the Farmington, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to improve your movement health, reach out to the nearest Axes location or contact us online to determine if gait analysis in Farmington, MO is appropriate for you.