Gait analysis in Pacific, MO. Gait analysis, also referred to as motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners can evaluate your mobility to offer personalized treatment and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete dealing with 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 Pacific, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that leads to pain or impacts movement health
• Measure and follow treatment outcomes
• Prevent and recover from injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Choose footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Pacific, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you love most. If you’re curious if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location nearest you or schedule an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by credentialed 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 progress of injury rehabilitation, 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 keeping you from living the life you want.

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

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Pacific, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method in and of itself, it provides essential insights to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more focused and customized approach. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Pacific, MO:

• Athletes looking for a competitive advantage — Correct form becomes essential at the zenith of sports. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address strength imbalances and restricted mobility, and prevent injury.
• Athletes healing from injury — If you’re coming off an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to track your progress and verify that your body is healing and building strength properly.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, in a slip and fall, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to derive positives from gait analysis in facilitating your healing from injury.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re a seasoned runner, gait analysis can aid you in finding the right footwear, which, together with further insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, preserve energy, and reduce the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can greatly interrupt your mobility health, in addition to 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 adapting to your new device and maximizing its function and comfort.
• People with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can profoundly influence our everyday functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally lose strength as we age. This can result in an heightened risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can offer support in identifying ways to lessen pressure on painful joints, reduce injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s striving to eventually run that marathon or just engage in your daily life without discomfort, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Pacific, MO will utilize gait analysis to customize your treatment, maximize your care, and assist you in getting back to the pursuits you love.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are commonly two main types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this approach entails a physical therapist personally watching your gait as you walk and via video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to obtain a broad assessment of your movement health and effortlessly spot any apparent patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the professional judgment of the therapist to draw conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this approach employs specialized technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to provide objective, quantifiable data regarding your gait. By employing 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 Pacific, MO possesses the ability and knowledge to tailor our gait analysis services to meet your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Pacific, MO

At Axes, our main aim is achieving positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in getting back to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we utilize every possible tool that can help our patients in Pacific, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Pacific, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists employ advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that monitor your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software converts that complex data into helpful information that your physical therapist can examine
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to enable a more thorough analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their professional observations to prescribe effective, evidence-based 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 Pacific, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to providing our Pacific, MO patients with successful, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that align with their lifestyles and objectives. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your individualized treatment plan:

• To get started, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be advantageous for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll carry out a comprehensive history taking and assessment to understand your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, including the findings of gait analysis into your all-encompassing treatment approach, enhancing your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their effectiveness.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll assist you in picking proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on achieving proper posture and optimizing movement health, incorporating insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, alongside other measurable information and markers, to consistently assess your progress and adapt your treatment plan as needed.

Axes provides much more than just a list 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 Pacific, MO who are motivated to provide the best results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Pacific, 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 Pacific, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly improve your overall well-being and performance, whether that involves flying down the field or going up stairs without discomfort. As we are dedicated to providing personalized treatment plans that are proven to work, we’re the limited number of clinics in the Pacific, 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 determine if gait analysis in Pacific, MO is suitable for you.