Gait analysis in Mehlville, MO. Gait analysis, also referred to as motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners can evaluate your movement to offer personalized care and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete recovering from an injury or you’re trying to handle chronic pain, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed treatment plan that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Identify and manage gait disorders
• Uncover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that leads to pain or influences movement health
• Evaluate and monitor 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 Mehlville, MO, our staff of physical therapists are dedicated to one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re wondering if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or schedule an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When performed 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 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 combination 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 Mehlville, 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 Mehlville, MO physical therapist can personalize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Mehlville, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment in and of itself, it provides important insights to your physical therapist about your mobility, allowing them to offer more focused and customized treatment. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Mehlville, MO:

• Athletes searching for a performance boost — Correct form becomes essential at the zenith of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address strength imbalances and restricted mobility, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recuperating from injury — If you’re coming back from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to monitor how your recovery’s going and verify that your body is recuperating and developing strength correctly.
• Others recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, in a slip and fall, or had to get surgery, you don’t have to be an athlete to derive positives from gait analysis in assisting your recuperation from injury.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced vet, gait analysis can aid you in finding the right footwear, which, together with further insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, preserve energy, and lower the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can greatly impede your mobility health, in addition to 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 also help you in adjusting to your new device and optimizing its function and comfort.
• People suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can greatly influence our everyday lives and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to monitor disease progression, assess treatment effectiveness, and shape rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently lose strength as we age. This can result in an increased risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can be beneficial in finding ways to lessen pressure on painful joints, reduce injury risks, and assess the cognitive and motor aspects of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s striving to ultimately run that marathon or just engage in your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Mehlville, MO will employ gait analysis to customize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in getting back to the experiences you love.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are generally 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 in real time and via video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to acquire a broad overview of your mobility health and readily identify any observable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the professional judgment of the therapist to reach conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this approach employs advanced technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to offer objective, quantifiable data regarding your gait. By utilizing precise numerical values, it allows greater thorough analysis and tracking of your progress over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are suitable in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Mehlville, MO has the capabilities and expertise to tailor our gait analysis services to address your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Mehlville, MO

At Axes, our primary focus is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in returning to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we make use of every possible tool that can help our patients in Mehlville, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Mehlville, MO, our expert physical therapists utilize advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that record your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software translates that algorithmic information into helpful information that your physical therapist can analyze
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to enable a more detailed analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their clinical observations to recommend efficient, 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 Mehlville, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to delivering our Mehlville, MO patients with successful, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that fit their lifestyles and objectives. Gait analysis can be included in your individualized treatment plan:

• To begin the process, speak with your doctor to evaluate if gait analysis might be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll perform a comprehensive history taking and assessment to gain insight into your goals, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll form a team with you and your doctor, integrating the insights from gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, improving your mobility health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their success.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll assist you in selecting proper footwear, braces, or other devices, while informing you on achieving proper posture and optimizing movement health, drawing on insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and markers, to consistently assess your progress and modify your treatment plan as necessary.

Axes delivers far more than simply a list of exercises to complete. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and advanced technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a committed team of physical therapists in Mehlville, MO who are motivated to deliver the best results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Mehlville, 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 Mehlville, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly improve your overall health and movement health, whether that means moving down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are committed to offering customized treatment plans that are proven to work, we’re one of the limited number of clinics in the Mehlville, 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 determine if gait analysis in Mehlville, MO is appropriate for you.