Gait analysis in Femme Osage, MO. Gait analysis, alongside video motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare providers to evaluate your movement to offer personalized treatment and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury or you’re trying to handle arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed plan of care that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

Your Femme Osage, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Uncover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or impacts movement health
• Measure and follow treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehabilitate injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Select footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Femme Osage, MO, our team 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 nearest you or make an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When performed by qualified physical therapists, gait analysis is an evaluation 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 progress 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 Femme Osage, 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 precise understanding of your gait, your Femme Osage, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you achieve the most rewards for your movement health and fitness.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Femme Osage, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment by itself, it offers essential data to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more specific and customized treatment. As such, gait analysis can be advantageous for a wide range of people in Femme Osage, MO:

• Athletes searching for a performance boost — Proper form becomes crucial at the highest level of sports. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address 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 track how your recovery’s going and confirm that your body is recovering and developing strength appropriately.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, involved in a car accident, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to gain advantages from gait analysis in aiding your recuperation from injury.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re a seasoned vet, gait analysis can assist you in discovering the suitable footwear, which, coupled with other insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, conserve energy, and minimize the chance of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically impede your movement 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 support you in acclimating to your new device and optimizing its function and convenience.
• Those with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can profoundly affect our everyday functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to track disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and direct rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently lose strength as we age. This may lead to an elevated risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in finding ways to relieve pressure on sore joints, minimize injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor facets of movement health.

No matter the reason you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s striving to eventually run that marathon or just engage in your day-to-day life without discomfort, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Femme Osage, MO will utilize gait analysis to customize your treatment, optimize your care, and assist you in getting back to the experiences you enjoy.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are typically two major types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this technique entails a physical therapist directly observing your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to acquire a overall assessment of your movement health and effortlessly detect any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the professional judgment of the therapist to draw 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 employing precise numerical values, it enables greater in-depth 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 Femme Osage, MO has the capabilities and knowledge to tailor our gait analysis services to address your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Femme Osage, MO

At Axes, our main focus is achieving positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in getting back to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we employ every possible tool that can help our patients in Femme Osage, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Femme Osage, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists employ advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that track 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 aid a more thorough analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their professional observations to recommend effective, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and compared against the normal population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Femme Osage, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to delivering our Femme Osage, MO patients with successful, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that align with their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your personalized treatment plan:

• To begin the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis might be beneficial for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll perform a detailed history taking and assessment to understand your goals, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll form a partnership with you and your doctor, integrating the insights from gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, optimizing your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been proven through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll assist you in choosing proper footwear, braces, or other devices, while informing you on sustaining proper posture and enhancing movement health, incorporating insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, together with other measurable information and indicators, to continuously review your growth and adapt your treatment plan as needed.

Axes provides far more than just a series of exercises to complete. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and innovative technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a dedicated team of physical therapists in Femme Osage, MO who are motivated to provide excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Femme Osage, 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 Femme Osage, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly improve your overall health and performance, regardless of whether that means moving down the field or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are dedicated to offering customized treatment plans that are proven to work, we are one of the limited number of clinics in the Femme Osage, MO 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 ascertain if gait analysis in Femme Osage, MO is suitable for you.