Gait analysis in Scotsdale, MO. Gait analysis, alongside video motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners can examine your mobility to offer better therapy and get you back to the things you love most. 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 plan of care that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Uncover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or influences movement health
• Measure and follow 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 Scotsdale, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re curious if gait analysis is right for you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or schedule an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by professional physical therapists, gait analysis is an evaluation of how you move, specifically how you walk and run. By gaining precise information about how you move, your physical therapist can offer insights into muscle imbalances, injury risks, the status of injury recovery, and more. Because our gaits our the product of a variety 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 Scotsdale, 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 Scotsdale, MO physical therapist can tailor your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Scotsdale, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method in and of itself, it offers important data to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more targeted and personalized care. As such, gait analysis can be advantageous for a wide range of people in Scotsdale, MO:

• Athletes seeking a competitive edge in their sport — Correct form becomes crucial at the zenith of sports. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address muscle imbalances and restricted mobility, and prevent injury.
• Athletes healing 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 ensure that your body is recuperating and developing strength appropriately.
• 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 aiding your recovery from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced veteran, gait analysis can aid you in finding the right footwear, which, coupled with additional insights from gait analysis, can boost your speed, conserve energy, and reduce the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically impede your movement health, along with resulting in phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices customized to your body and lifestyle. It can furthermore help you in adapting to your new device and maximizing its function and convenience.
• Those suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can greatly impact our daily functioning and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to monitor disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and shape rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally lose strength as we age. This may lead to an elevated risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can offer support in finding ways to relieve pressure on sore joints, mitigate injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor facets of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to eventually run that marathon or just engage in your day-to-day life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Scotsdale, MO will apply gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and assist you in returning to the pursuits you love.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are typically two primary types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this approach entails a physical therapist directly observing your gait in real time and through video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to acquire a general assessment of your movement health and readily identify any observable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis utilizes the professional judgment of the therapist to make assessments.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this method employs specialized technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to deliver objective, quantifiable data regarding your gait. By using precise numerical values, it enables greater thorough analysis and monitoring 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 Scotsdale, MO possesses the capacity and expertise to tailor our gait analysis services to meet your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Scotsdale, MO

At Axes, our primary goal is delivering 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 Scotsdale, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Scotsdale, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists utilize innovative DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer both 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 hard data into useful information that your physical therapist can analyze
• 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 prescribe successful, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and compared against the normal population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Scotsdale, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to delivering our Scotsdale, MO patients with successful, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that align with their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be included in your customized treatment plan:

• To start the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis may be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a comprehensive patient interview and physical examination to gain insight into your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, including the results of gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, improving your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll create personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their effectiveness.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in picking suitable footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on achieving proper posture and optimizing movement health, utilizing insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll leverage gait analysis, together with other quantitative information and markers, to consistently review your progress and adjust your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes delivers far more than simply a list of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and advanced technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a dedicated team of physical therapists in Scotsdale, MO who are driven to deliver the best results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Scotsdale, 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 Scotsdale, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly contribute to your overall health and movement health, regardless of whether that means soaring down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are committed to providing individualized, evidence-based treatment plans, we are one of the limited number of clinics in the Scotsdale, MO area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to optimize your movement health, contact the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Scotsdale, MO is right for you.