Gait analysis in Spanish Lake, MO. Gait analysis, also called motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare providers can examine your movement to offer better therapy and get you back to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete recovering from an injury or you’re trying to cope with arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed plan of care that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

Your Spanish Lake, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Detect and address gait disorders
• Find out hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that results in pain or impacts movement health
• Evaluate and monitor treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehab injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Find footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in Spanish Lake, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re wondering if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location nearest you or make an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by qualified 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 status of injury rehabilitation, 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 your overall movement health.

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

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Spanish Lake, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method by itself, it provides crucial insights to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more targeted and personalized treatment. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Spanish Lake, MO:

• Athletes desiring a competitive edge — Proper form becomes increasingly important at the peak of competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify muscle imbalances and restricted mobility, 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 monitor your progress and ensure that your body is recovering and developing strength properly.
• Others 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 benefits from gait analysis in aiding 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 discovering the right footwear, which, coupled with additional insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, conserve energy, and reduce the chance of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly impede your movement health, in addition to 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 assist you in adapting to your new device and optimizing its performance and convenience.
• Those with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can significantly influence our everyday lives and mobility health. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently lose strength as we age. This may lead to an elevated risk of falling for older adults, along with degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can be beneficial in discovering ways to relieve pressure on painful joints, reduce injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor facets of movement health.

No matter why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s striving to ultimately run that marathon or just enjoy your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Spanish Lake, MO will employ gait analysis to personalize your treatment, optimize your care, and assist you in returning to the experiences you enjoy.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are commonly two major types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this approach entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait in real time and via video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to obtain a broad overview of your movement health and readily detect any apparent patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the clinical expertise of the therapist to reach conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this method employs specific technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to offer objective, quantifiable data concerning your gait. By utilizing precise numerical values, it enables greater in-depth analysis and monitoring of your improvement over time.

Both qualitative and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Spanish Lake, MO possesses the capacity and expertise to personalize our gait analysis services to fulfill your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Spanish Lake, MO

At Axes, our primary aim 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 Spanish Lake, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Spanish Lake, 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 record your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software translates that complicated data into useful information that your physical therapist can examine
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to aid a more thorough analysis and breakdown of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their professional observations to prescribe successful, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly monitored over time and compared against the normal population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Spanish Lake, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is dedicated to delivering our Spanish Lake, MO patients with successful, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that align with their daily lives and goals. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your personalized treatment plan:

• To get started, consult your doctor to determine if gait analysis could be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a comprehensive patient interview and assessment to understand your goals, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, incorporating the findings of gait analysis into your comprehensive treatment approach, enhancing your mobility health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been validated through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll support you in choosing proper footwear, braces, or other devices, while educating you on achieving proper posture and improving movement health, incorporating insights obtained from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and markers, to continuously assess your growth and adjust your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes offers far more than just a list of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and state-of-the-art technologies at our disposal, Axes offers a committed team of physical therapists in Spanish Lake, MO who are driven to provide optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Spanish Lake, 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 Spanish Lake, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly improve your overall health and movement health, whether that means soaring down the field or going up stairs without discomfort. As we are committed to providing personalized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re the limited number of clinics in the Spanish Lake, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to improve your movement health, get in touch with the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Spanish Lake, MO is appropriate for you.