Gait analysis in Grover, MO. Gait analysis, alongside video motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners to evaluate your movement to offer better care and get you back to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete healing from an injury or you’re trying to cope with arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed therapy program that’s personalized for your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Identify and manage gait disorders
• Discover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or influences movement health
• Assess and track 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 Grover, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re wondering if gait analysis is right for you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or make an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by credentialed physical therapists, gait analysis is an assessment 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 status of injury recovery, 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 your overall movement health.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in Grover, 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 Grover, MO physical therapist can tailor your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Grover, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a therapy by itself, it offers crucial information to your physical therapist about your mobility, allowing them to offer more targeted and customized care. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Grover, MO:

• Athletes desiring a competitive edge — Proper form becomes increasingly important at the pinnacle of sports. 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 verify that your body is recuperating and building strength appropriately.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured on the job, involved in a car accident, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to experience positives from gait analysis in aiding your recovery from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced runner, gait analysis can assist you in discovering the suitable footwear, which, coupled with further insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, preserve energy, and reduce the chance of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically interrupt your mobility health, in addition to 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 help you in adapting to your new device and optimizing its performance and comfort.
• People suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can profoundly affect our everyday functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, assess treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently lose strength as we age. This can result in an elevated risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can offer support in finding ways to lessen pressure on painful joints, reduce injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to finally run that marathon or just engage in your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Grover, MO will utilize gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in returning to the pursuits you cherish.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are typically two primary 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 through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to obtain a general overview of your movement health and readily identify any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the clinical expertise 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 provide objective, quantifiable data concerning your gait. By using precise numerical values, it allows greater in-depth analysis and tracking of your progress over a period of time.

Both qualitative and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Grover, MO has the capabilities and knowledge to customize our gait analysis services to meet your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Grover, MO

At Axes, our primary aim is achieving positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in getting back to what they love most. To accomplish this, we make use of every possible tool to support our patients in Grover, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Grover, MO, our expert physical therapists utilize advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer both qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are attached to your body that monitor your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that complex data into useful information that your physical therapist can analyze
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to enable a more thorough analysis and breakdown of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to prescribe successful, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and evaluated against the average population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Grover, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to providing our Grover, MO patients with successful, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that align with their lifestyles and goals. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your customized treatment plan:

• To start the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll carry out a detailed history taking and assessment to understand your goals, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, incorporating the findings of gait analysis into your comprehensive treatment approach, enhancing your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in selecting appropriate footwear, braces, or other devices, while educating you on achieving proper posture and optimizing movement health, incorporating insights obtained from gait analysis.
• We’ll leverage gait analysis, alongside other quantitative data and markers, to consistently evaluate your progress and adapt your treatment plan as necessary.

Axes provides a lot more than just a list of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and cutting-edge technologies at our disposal, Axes offers a specialized team of physical therapists in Grover, MO who are determined to provide the best results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Grover, 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 Grover, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly contribute to your overall well-being and performance, whether that means flying down the field or climbing stairs without discomfort. As we are dedicated to offering individualized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re one of the limited number of clinics in the Grover, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to enhance your movement health, get in touch with the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Grover, MO is right for you.