Gait analysis in St. Charles, MO. Gait analysis, in combination with video motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare professionals to assess your movement to offer personalized care and get you back 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 plan of care that’s personalized for your lifestyle and goals.

Your St. Charles, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Identify and manage gait disorders
• Uncover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that leads to pain or influences 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 St. Charles, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you enjoy most. If you’re wondering if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or make 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 assessment 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 progress 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 your overall movement health.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in St. Charles, 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 St. Charles, MO physical therapist can tailor your treatment and help you get the most rewards for your movement health and fitness.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in St. Charles, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method in and of itself, it provides valuable data to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more specific and customized approach. As such, gait analysis can be advantageous for a wide range of people in St. Charles, MO:

• Athletes searching for a competitive advantage — Correct form becomes essential at the peak of athletic 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 back from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to track how your recovery’s going and confirm that your body is recuperating and building strength adequately.
• 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 experience benefits from gait analysis in assisting your recovery from injury.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced veteran, gait analysis can assist you in finding the appropriate footwear, which, together with further insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, preserve energy, and lower the risk of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly impede your movement health, along with 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 additionally support you in adapting to your new device and maximizing its function and comfort.
• Those with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can profoundly influence our day-to-day lives and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to observe disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally lose strength as we age. This may lead to an elevated risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in discovering ways to alleviate pressure on aching joints, reduce injury risks, and assess the cognitive and motor facets of movement health.

No matter why you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s working to finally run that marathon or just enjoy your daily life without discomfort, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in St. Charles, MO will employ gait analysis to customize your treatment, optimize your care, and help you in returning to the pursuits 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 personally watching your gait in real time and through video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to obtain a overall overview of your mobility health and effortlessly detect any apparent 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 approach employs advanced technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to offer objective, measurable data about your gait. By employing precise numerical values, it allows more thorough analysis and tracking of your progress over time.

Both clinical and quantitative gait analysis are suitable in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in St. Charles, MO has the ability and knowledge to tailor our gait analysis services to meet your specific needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in St. Charles, MO

At Axes, our primary aim is delivering positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in returning to what they love most. To accomplish this, we employ every available tool to support our patients in St. Charles, MO. When conducting gait analysis in St. Charles, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists employ cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are attached to your body that record your motion, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software converts that algorithmic information into useful information that your physical therapist can review
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to enable a more thorough analysis and breakdown of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their clinical observations to recommend effective, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and compared against the average population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in St. Charles, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to delivering our St. Charles, MO patients with successful, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that fit their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be part of your individualized treatment plan:

• To get started, speak with your doctor to determine if gait analysis could be helpful for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a free injury screening.
• We’ll conduct a thorough patient interview and physical examination to understand your objectives, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll build a team with you and your doctor, including the insights from gait analysis into your all-encompassing treatment approach, improving your movement health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their success.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in picking proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while informing you on maintaining proper posture and improving movement health, incorporating insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll employ gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and indicators, to continuously review your progress and adjust your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes delivers much more than simply a list of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and innovative technologies at our fingertips, Axes provides a specialized team of physical therapists in St. Charles, MO who are motivated to provide optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in St. Charles, 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 St. Charles, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can positively enhance your overall health and movement health, regardless of whether that involves soaring down the field or going up stairs without pain. As we are committed to offering individualized treatment plans that are proven to work, we are among the few clinics in the St. Charles, 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 St. Charles, MO is appropriate for you.