Gait analysis in Mechanicsville, MO. Gait analysis, alongside video motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare professionals can examine your movement to offer better treatment and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete healing from 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 personalized for your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that leads to pain or influences movement health
• Assess and track treatment outcomes
• Prevent and recover from injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Find footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Mechanicsville, MO, our staff of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re wondering if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or make an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When done 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 product of a multitude of factors – strength, flexibility, coordination, vision, the vestibular system – gait analysis can provide a valuable look at what may be affecting your movement health.

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

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Mechanicsville, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method in and of itself, it offers crucial insights to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more specific and customized care. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Mechanicsville, MO:

• Athletes looking for a competitive edge — Proper form becomes increasingly important at the highest level of competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify strength imbalances and range of motion limitations, and prevent injury.
• Athletes healing from injury — If you’re coming back from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to monitor your progress and ensure that your body is recovering and developing strength appropriately.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured on the job, involved in a car accident, or had to get surgery, you don’t have to be an athlete to gain advantages from gait analysis in assisting your recovery from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced veteran, gait analysis can aid you in discovering the suitable footwear, which, coupled with further insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, conserve energy, and minimize the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly interrupt your movement health, as well as 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 adapting to your new device and maximizing its performance and comfort.
• People with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can significantly impact our day-to-day lives and movement health. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and direct rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably lose strength as we age. This may lead to an increased risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in finding ways to relieve pressure on sore joints, reduce injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor aspects of movement health.

Regardless of the reason 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 physical and occupational therapists in Mechanicsville, MO will employ gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and assist you in getting back to the pursuits you enjoy.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are typically two major types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this technique entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to acquire a overall overview of your movement health and readily identify any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the professional judgment of the therapist to reach conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this method employs advanced 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 monitoring of your improvement over time.

Both clinical and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Mechanicsville, MO has the ability and expertise to personalize our gait analysis services to fulfill your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Mechanicsville, MO

At Axes, our primary focus is delivering positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in returning to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we utilize every possible tool to support our patients in Mechanicsville, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Mechanicsville, MO, our experienced physical therapists utilize advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide combined qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that record your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software converts that algorithmic information into useful information that your physical therapist can review
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to enable a more thorough analysis and breakdown of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist integrates these insights with their professional observations to prescribe successful, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and compared against the typical population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Mechanicsville, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to offering our Mechanicsville, MO patients with effective, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that suit their lifestyles and goals. Gait analysis can be included in your personalized treatment plan:

• To get started, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a comprehensive patient interview and assessment to understand your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll create a partnership with you and your doctor, integrating the results of gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, enhancing your movement health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll create personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their effectiveness.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in choosing proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on maintaining proper posture and enhancing movement health, utilizing insights gained from gait analysis.
• We’ll use gait analysis, together with other measurable data and markers, to continuously assess your progress and adjust your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes provides a lot more than simply a series of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and innovative technologies at our disposal, Axes provides a specialized team of physical therapists in Mechanicsville, MO who are driven to deliver excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Mechanicsville, 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 Mechanicsville, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly enhance your overall health and movement health, whether that means gliding down the field or climbing stairs without pain. As we are committed to providing customized, evidence-based treatment plans, we are one of the few clinics in the Mechanicsville, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to optimize your movement health, reach out to the nearest Axes location or contact us online to ascertain if gait analysis in Mechanicsville, MO is suitable for you.