Gait analysis in Oakville, MO. Gait analysis, also referred to as motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners to evaluate your movement to offer better treatment and get you back to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete healing from an injury or you’re trying to cope with arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed therapy program that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that causes 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 Oakville, MO, our staff of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you enjoy most. If you’re curious if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location most convenient for you or schedule an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When done by qualified physical therapists, gait analysis is an evaluation 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 progress of injury rehabilitation, 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 what may be keeping you from living the life you want.

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

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Oakville, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a therapy in and of itself, it offers valuable insights to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more focused and personalized approach. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Oakville, MO:

• Athletes searching for a competitive edge — Proper form becomes increasingly important at the peak of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address muscle imbalances and range of motion limitations, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recovering from injury — If you’re coming back from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to track how your recovery’s going and verify that your body is healing and developing strength appropriately.
• 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 experience advantages from gait analysis in assisting your healing from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced vet, gait analysis can assist you in identifying the suitable footwear, which, together with additional insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, save energy, and minimize the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically disrupt your movement health, along with causing phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices specifically designed to your body and lifestyle. It can furthermore support you in adjusting to your new device and maximizing its performance and comfort.
• Those suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can significantly influence our daily lives and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to monitor disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and direct rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently lose strength as we age. This can cause an heightened risk of falling for older adults, along with degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in finding ways to relieve pressure on aching joints, minimize injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor aspects of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to eventually run that marathon or simply engage in your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Oakville, MO will utilize gait analysis to customize your treatment, optimize your care, and help you in returning to the activities 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 personally observing your gait as you walk and via video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a broad assessment of your mobility health and readily spot any apparent patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the professional judgment of the therapist to make assessments.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this method employs advanced technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to offer objective, quantifiable data concerning your gait. By utilizing precise numerical values, it enables more thorough analysis and monitoring of your progress over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are appropriate in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Oakville, MO possesses the capacity and knowledge to customize our gait analysis services to fulfill your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Oakville, MO

At Axes, our primary aim is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in returning to what they love most. To accomplish this, we utilize every available tool that can help our patients in Oakville, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Oakville, MO, our experienced physical therapists employ cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined 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 converts that algorithmic information into useful information that your physical therapist can review
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to facilitate a more detailed analysis and examination of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their professional observations to prescribe successful, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and evaluated against the normal population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Oakville, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to providing our Oakville, MO patients with successful, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that suit their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be part of your individualized treatment plan:

• To start the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis might be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll perform a comprehensive patient interview and assessment to gain insight into your goals, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, including the results of gait analysis into your all-encompassing treatment approach, improving your mobility health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll create personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been proven through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their effectiveness.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll assist you in selecting appropriate footwear, braces, or other 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 quantitative data and indicators, to consistently assess your progress and modify your treatment plan as needed.

Axes provides a lot more than simply a series of exercises to complete. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and cutting-edge technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a dedicated team of physical therapists in Oakville, MO who are determined to provide excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Oakville, 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 Oakville, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can positively contribute to your overall health and performance, whether that involves gliding down the field or climbing stairs without pain. As we are committed to offering individualized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re one of the limited number of clinics in the Oakville, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to enhance your movement health, get in touch with the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Oakville, MO is right for you.