Gait analysis in Saint Paul, MO. Gait analysis, in combination with video motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare providers can evaluate your movement to offer better treatment and return you to the things you enjoy most. 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 plan of care that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

Your Saint Paul, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Find out hidden musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that leads to pain or affects movement health
• Measure and follow 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 Saint Paul, MO, our team of physical therapists are devoted to one thing: getting you back to what you love most. If you’re curious if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or request an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by licensed 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 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 Saint Paul, 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 Saint Paul, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Saint Paul, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method by itself, it provides essential data to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more targeted and personalized treatment. As such, gait analysis can be advantageous for a wide range of people in Saint Paul, MO:

• Athletes looking for a competitive advantage — Correct form becomes crucial at the zenith of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address strength imbalances and limited range of motion, 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 ensure that your body is recuperating and gaining strength properly.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured on the job, in a slip and fall, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to derive advantages from gait analysis in facilitating your recovery from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re a seasoned veteran, gait analysis can help you in identifying the suitable footwear, which, together with additional insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, save energy, and lower the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically disrupt your movement health, as well as resulting in phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices specifically designed to your body and lifestyle. It can also help you in adapting to your new device and optimizing its performance and comfort.
• Those suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can profoundly impact our day-to-day lives and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to track disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and direct rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably weaken as we age. This can result in an elevated risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can be beneficial in discovering ways to relieve pressure on sore joints, reduce injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor facets of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s aiming to ultimately run that marathon or just enjoy your day-to-day life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Saint Paul, MO will employ gait analysis to customize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in getting back to the experiences you enjoy.

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 technique entails a physical therapist directly observing your gait in real time and through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a overall assessment of your mobility health and effortlessly identify any noticeable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the clinical expertise of the therapist to draw 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 concerning your gait. By using precise numerical values, it allows more in-depth analysis and tracking of your progress over time.

Both qualitative and quantitative gait analysis are appropriate in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Saint Paul, MO has the ability and expertise to personalize our gait analysis services to meet your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Saint Paul, MO

At Axes, our primary objective is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in getting back to what they love most. To accomplish this, we make use of every available tool to support our patients in Saint Paul, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Saint Paul, MO, our experienced physical therapists utilize innovative DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide combined qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are attached to your body that monitor your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that algorithmic information into useful information that your physical therapist can examine
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to enable a more comprehensive analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to prescribe efficient, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously monitored over time and evaluated against the typical population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Saint Paul, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to offering our Saint Paul, MO patients with successful, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that fit their lifestyles and objectives. Gait analysis can be included in your personalized treatment plan:

• To get started, ask your doctor if gait analysis might be helpful for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll perform a comprehensive history taking and physical examination to gain insight into your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll create a partnership with you and your doctor, including the insights from gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, optimizing your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been validated through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their success.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in picking suitable footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on maintaining proper posture and optimizing movement health, drawing on insights obtained from gait analysis.
• We’ll employ gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and markers, to constantly assess your progress and adjust your treatment plan as necessary.

Axes delivers much more than simply a series of exercises to check off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and state-of-the-art technologies at our disposal, Axes provides a specialized team of physical therapists in Saint Paul, MO who are motivated to deliver excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Saint Paul, 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 Saint Paul, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly enhance your overall well-being and performance, regardless of whether that involves soaring down the court or going up stairs without pain. As we are dedicated to providing individualized treatment plans that are proven to work, we’re one of the few clinics in the Saint Paul, 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 ascertain if gait analysis in Saint Paul, MO is right for you.