Gait analysis in Lake Tekawitha, MO. Gait analysis, in combination with video motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners can assess your mobility to offer better care and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete healing 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 Lake Tekawitha, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or influences movement health
• Measure and follow 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 Lake Tekawitha, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you love most. If you’re wondering if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location most convenient for you or request an appointment online 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 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 Lake Tekawitha, 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 Lake Tekawitha, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get the most rewards for your movement health and fitness.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Lake Tekawitha, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment by itself, it provides crucial data to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more targeted and personalized care. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in Lake Tekawitha, MO:

• Athletes searching for a competitive edge in their sport — Proper form becomes crucial at the highest level of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address muscle imbalances and range of motion limitations, 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 your progress and ensure that your body is recuperating and developing strength properly.
• 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 benefits 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 veteran, gait analysis can help you in finding the suitable footwear, which, together with other insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, conserve energy, and reduce the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly impede your mobility health, along with resulting in phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices customized to your body and lifestyle. It can also assist you in adapting to your new device and optimizing its performance and comfort.
• People with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can profoundly impact our day-to-day functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to track disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally lose strength as we age. This may lead to an elevated risk of falling for older adults, along with degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in finding ways to alleviate pressure on painful joints, minimize injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor facets of movement health.

Regardless of why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s aiming to finally run that marathon or just enjoy your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Lake Tekawitha, MO will utilize gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and assist you in getting back to the experiences you cherish.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are commonly two primary 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 through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to obtain a overall overview of your mobility health and easily identify any observable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the clinical expertise of the therapist to reach conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this approach employs specialized 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 tracking of your improvement over a period of time.

Both qualitative and instrument-assisted gait analysis are appropriate in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Lake Tekawitha, MO possesses the capacity and knowledge to customize our gait analysis services to meet your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Lake Tekawitha, MO

At Axes, our main 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 available tool that can help our patients in Lake Tekawitha, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Lake Tekawitha, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists employ cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are positioned on your body that monitor your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software converts that algorithmic information into valuable information that your physical therapist can review
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to aid a more detailed analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their professional observations to recommend effective, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and evaluated against the average population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Lake Tekawitha, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is dedicated to delivering our Lake Tekawitha, MO patients with successful, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that align with their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be included in your personalized treatment plan:

• To begin the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be beneficial for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll perform a detailed patient interview and physical examination to understand your goals, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a partnership with you and your doctor, integrating the findings of gait analysis into your all-encompassing treatment approach, optimizing your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll create personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been validated through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their success.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in choosing suitable footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on achieving proper posture and enhancing movement health, utilizing insights obtained from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and markers, to constantly evaluate your growth and modify your treatment plan as necessary.

Axes provides a lot more than just a list of exercises to complete. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and state-of-the-art technologies at our fingertips, Axes provides a committed team of physical therapists in Lake Tekawitha, MO who are determined to provide optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Lake Tekawitha, 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 Lake Tekawitha, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly enhance your overall well-being and performance, whether that involves moving down the field or climbing stairs without discomfort. As we are dedicated to providing personalized treatment plans that are proven to work, we’re one of the limited number of clinics in the Lake Tekawitha, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to enhance your movement health, call the nearest Axes location or contact us online to ascertain if gait analysis in Lake Tekawitha, MO is right for you.