Gait analysis in Sappington, MO. Gait analysis, also known as motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners can evaluate your movement to offer personalized care and get you back 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 therapy program that’s personalized for your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Identify and manage gait disorders
• Discover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that causes pain or impacts movement health
• Assess and track treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehabilitate injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Choose footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Sappington, MO, our team of physical therapists are devoted to one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re curious if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location most convenient for you or request an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When performed by credentialed physical therapists, gait analysis is an assessment of how you move, specifically how you walk and run. By understanding how you move, your physical therapist can offer insights into muscle imbalances, injury risks, the status 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 your overall movement health.

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

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Sappington, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method in and of itself, it provides essential data to your physical therapist about your mobility, allowing them to offer more specific and customized approach. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in Sappington, MO:

• Athletes looking for a competitive edge in their sport — Correct form becomes essential at the peak of 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 off an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to monitor your progress and ensure that your body is recuperating and developing strength properly.
• Others recovering from injury — Whether you were injured on the job, involved in a car accident, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to experience advantages from gait analysis in aiding your recuperation from injury.
• 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, together with additional insights from gait analysis, can boost your speed, save energy, and minimize the chance of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly impede your movement health, as well as 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 help you in acclimating 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 profoundly impact our everyday functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to track disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently weaken as we age. This may lead to an increased risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in discovering ways to relieve pressure on painful joints, reduce injury risks, and assess the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

No matter the reason you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to ultimately run that marathon or just enjoy your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Sappington, MO will apply gait analysis to customize your treatment, optimize your care, and assist you in returning to the activities 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 directly observing your gait as you walk and through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a overall assessment of your mobility health and easily identify any apparent patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the clinical expertise 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 deliver objective, measurable data regarding your gait. By using precise numerical values, it allows greater detailed analysis and monitoring of your improvement over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are suitable in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Sappington, MO has the capacity and knowledge to personalize our gait analysis services to meet your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Sappington, MO

At Axes, our main objective is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in getting back to what they love most. To accomplish this, we utilize every possible tool that can help our patients in Sappington, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Sappington, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists employ advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined qualitative and quantitative analysis.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are placed on your body that monitor your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software converts that complicated data into valuable information that your physical therapist can review
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to aid a more comprehensive analysis and examination of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist integrates these insights with their clinical observations to recommend efficient, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly monitored over time and evaluated against the typical population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Sappington, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is dedicated to offering our Sappington, MO patients with effective, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that align with their lifestyles and objectives. Gait analysis can be part of your customized treatment plan:

• To get started, speak with your doctor to determine if gait analysis might be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a comprehensive patient interview and assessment to gain insight into your goals, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll create a partnership with you and your doctor, including the results of gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, enhancing your mobility health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll create 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 choosing proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on maintaining proper posture and optimizing movement health, incorporating insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll leverage gait analysis, together with other measurable information and indicators, to constantly evaluate your progress and modify your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes offers a lot more than simply a series of exercises to complete. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and advanced technologies at our disposal, Axes offers a specialized team of physical therapists in Sappington, MO who are determined to provide the best results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Sappington, 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 Sappington, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly improve your overall well-being and performance, regardless of whether that means soaring down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are committed to offering individualized treatment plans that are proven to work, we are among the limited number of clinics in the Sappington, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to improve your movement health, reach out to the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Sappington, MO is appropriate for you.