Gait analysis in Maplewood, MO. Gait analysis, also called motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare providers to examine your mobility to offer personalized care and get you back to the things you enjoy most. 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 therapy program that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Discover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that leads to pain or affects movement health
• Measure and follow treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehab injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Choose footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Maplewood, MO, our staff of physical therapists are committed to one thing: getting you back to what you enjoy most. If you’re wondering if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or schedule an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by qualified 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 progress 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 your overall movement health.

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

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Maplewood, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method by itself, it provides crucial data to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more targeted and personalized treatment. As such, gait analysis can be advantageous for a wide range of people in Maplewood, MO:

• Athletes looking for a performance boost — Proper form becomes vital at the pinnacle of competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify 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 monitor your progress and confirm that your body is healing and building strength properly.
• 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 experience advantages 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 vet, gait analysis can help you in discovering the appropriate footwear, which, along with other insights from gait analysis, can boost your speed, preserve energy, and lower the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can greatly interrupt your movement health, along with resulting in phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices tailored to your body and lifestyle. It can additionally support you in adjusting to your new device and optimizing its function and comfort.
• People with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can significantly influence our everyday functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to track disease progression, evaluate 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, as well as degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in identifying ways to lessen pressure on aching joints, reduce 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 ultimately run that marathon or just engage in your daily life without discomfort, Axes’ licensed therapists in Maplewood, MO will apply gait analysis to customize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in returning to the activities 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 approach entails a physical therapist personally observing your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to gain a overall overview of your mobility health and effortlessly spot any observable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the clinical expertise of the therapist to make assessments.
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, measurable data about your gait. By using precise numerical values, it enables more thorough analysis and monitoring of your improvement over a period of time.

Both qualitative and quantitative gait analysis are suitable in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Maplewood, MO has the ability and knowledge to customize our gait analysis services to fulfill your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Maplewood, MO

At Axes, our main focus is achieving positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in getting back to what they love most. To accomplish this, we employ every available tool to support our patients in Maplewood, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Maplewood, MO, our experienced physical therapists utilize innovative DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that track your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that algorithmic information into valuable information that your physical therapist can review
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to facilitate a more detailed analysis and breakdown of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their professional observations to recommend successful, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and compared against the normal population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Maplewood, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to delivering our Maplewood, MO patients with successful, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that suit their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be part of your individualized treatment plan:

• To get started, talk to your doctor to determine if gait analysis may be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll perform a comprehensive history taking and physical examination to gain insight into your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, including the insights from gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, optimizing your movement health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been proven through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their effectiveness.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in selecting proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on maintaining proper posture and optimizing movement health, drawing on insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll use gait analysis, alongside other measurable information and indicators, to continuously evaluate your progress and modify your treatment plan as needed.

Axes delivers much more than simply a series of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and state-of-the-art technologies at our disposal, Axes offers a committed team of physical therapists in Maplewood, MO who are motivated to provide the best results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Maplewood, 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 Maplewood, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly contribute to your overall health and movement health, regardless of whether that means soaring down the court or climbing stairs without discomfort. As we are committed to providing personalized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re the limited number of clinics in the Maplewood, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to optimize your movement health, call the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Maplewood, MO is appropriate for you.