Gait analysis in Green Park, MO. Gait analysis, also known as motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare professionals can examine 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 chronic pain, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed plan of care that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

Your Green Park, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Discover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that results in pain or affects movement health
• Evaluate and monitor 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 Green Park, MO, our staff of physical therapists are committed to one thing: getting you back to what you love most. If you’re wondering if gait analysis can help 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 professional 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 product 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 Green Park, 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 Green Park, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Green Park, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method by itself, it offers essential data to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more targeted and customized approach. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Green Park, MO:

• Athletes searching for a competitive advantage — Proper form becomes essential at the zenith of competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify strength imbalances and restricted mobility, 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 how your recovery’s going and verify that your body is recuperating and developing strength properly.
• Others recovering from injury — Whether you were injured on the job, in a slip and fall, or underwent recent surgery, you don’t have to be an athlete to experience benefits from gait analysis in facilitating 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 help you in discovering the appropriate footwear, which, coupled with further insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, save energy, and lower the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly impede your movement health, along with 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 also help you in adjusting to your new device and maximizing its function and convenience.
• Those suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can significantly affect our daily functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to track disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally lose strength as we age. This can cause an elevated risk of falling for older adults, along with degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in finding ways to relieve pressure on painful joints, minimize injury risks, and assess the cognitive and motor facets of movement health.

Regardless of why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s working to finally run that marathon or just engage in your day-to-day life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Green Park, MO will utilize gait analysis to personalize your treatment, optimize your care, and assist you in returning 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 technique entails a physical therapist personally observing your gait as you walk and via video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a broad assessment of your mobility health and easily identify any apparent patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the clinical expertise of the therapist to draw conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this technique employs specific technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to provide objective, measurable data concerning your gait. By utilizing precise numerical values, it enables more thorough analysis and monitoring of your progress over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are suitable in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Green Park, MO has the capabilities and expertise to personalize our gait analysis services to address your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Green Park, MO

At Axes, our main objective is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in returning to what they love most. To accomplish this, we employ every possible tool that can help our patients in Green Park, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Green Park, MO, our expert physical therapists employ state-of-the-art DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer both qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are positioned on your body that record your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that algorithmic information into useful information that your physical therapist can review
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to aid a more comprehensive analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist integrates these insights with their clinical observations to prescribe successful, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously monitored over time and compared against the typical population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Green Park, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to delivering our Green Park, MO patients with successful, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that fit their lifestyles and goals. Gait analysis can be part of your individualized treatment plan:

• To begin the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis might be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a detailed patient interview and physical examination to gain insight into your goals, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll create a partnership with you and your doctor, including the findings of gait analysis into your comprehensive treatment approach, optimizing your mobility health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been validated through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in choosing appropriate footwear, braces, or other devices, while informing you on achieving proper posture and enhancing movement health, drawing on insights obtained from gait analysis.
• We’ll employ gait analysis, alongside other quantitative information and markers, to constantly review your growth and adapt your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes offers a lot more than just a series of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and innovative technologies at our disposal, Axes offers a dedicated team of physical therapists in Green Park, MO who are determined to deliver optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Green Park, 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 Green Park, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can positively contribute to your overall well-being and performance, whether that means flying down the field or climbing stairs without discomfort. As we are committed to providing personalized treatment plans that are proven to work, we’re among the limited number of clinics in the Green Park, 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 Green Park, MO is right for you.