Gait analysis in Meacham Park, MO. Gait analysis, in combination with video motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare professionals can assess your mobility to offer personalized treatment 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 therapy program that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Find out underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or impacts movement health
• Measure and follow treatment outcomes
• Prevent and recover from injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Select footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Meacham Park, MO, our team of physical therapists are committed to one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re wondering if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location most convenient for you or request an appointment through our website 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 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 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 Meacham 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 precise insights into your gait, your Meacham 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 Meacham Park, MO

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

• Athletes looking for a competitive advantage — Correct form becomes increasingly important at the pinnacle of sports. 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 recovering from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to monitor your progress and verify that your body is recovering and building strength adequately.
• 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 healing 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 appropriate footwear, which, coupled with further insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, save energy, and reduce the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically disrupt your mobility 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 adjusting to your new device and optimizing its performance and convenience.
• People with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can profoundly influence our day-to-day functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to monitor disease progression, assess treatment effectiveness, and direct rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally weaken 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 discovering ways to relieve pressure on painful joints, reduce injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor aspects of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to ultimately run that marathon or simply engage in your day-to-day life without discomfort, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Meacham Park, MO will utilize gait analysis to customize your treatment, optimize your care, and help you in returning to the experiences you enjoy.

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 approach entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a general overview of your movement health and readily spot any observable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the clinical expertise of the therapist to reach 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 regarding your gait. By utilizing precise numerical values, it enables greater thorough analysis and tracking of your progress over a period of time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are appropriate in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Meacham Park, MO has the ability and knowledge to tailor our gait analysis services to address your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Meacham Park, MO

At Axes, our main objective is delivering positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in returning to what they love most. To accomplish this, we employ every possible tool that can help our patients in Meacham Park, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Meacham Park, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists utilize cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are positioned on your body that monitor your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software converts that algorithmic information into helpful information that your physical therapist can examine
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to facilitate a more detailed analysis and breakdown of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to recommend efficient, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and compared against the typical population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Meacham Park, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to delivering our Meacham Park, MO patients with successful, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that suit their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your personalized treatment plan:

• To get started, ask your doctor if gait analysis might be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll perform a comprehensive patient interview and physical examination to understand your goals, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll create a partnership with you and your doctor, incorporating the results of gait analysis into your all-encompassing treatment approach, optimizing your movement 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 offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in choosing proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on sustaining proper posture and enhancing movement health, incorporating insights gained from gait analysis.
• We’ll employ gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and indicators, to constantly assess your growth and adapt your treatment plan as needed.

Axes delivers much more than just a list of exercises to check off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and cutting-edge technologies at our disposal, Axes provides a dedicated team of physical therapists in Meacham Park, MO who are motivated to provide excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Meacham 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 Meacham Park, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly improve your overall well-being and performance, regardless of whether that involves gliding down the field or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are dedicated to offering personalized treatment plans that are proven to work, we are the limited number of clinics in the Meacham Park, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to optimize your movement health, call the nearest Axes location or contact us online to ascertain if gait analysis in Meacham Park, MO is appropriate for you.