Gait analysis in Troy, MO. Gait analysis, also referred to as motion analysis, is a way physical therapists and other healthcare practitioners can examine your movement to offer better care and return you 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 treatment plan that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

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

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve dysfunction that leads to pain or impacts 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 Troy, MO, our team of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: getting you back to what you love most. If you’re wondering if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location nearest you or schedule an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When performed by credentialed physical therapists, gait analysis is an evaluation 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 rehabilitation, and more. Because our gaits our the result of a multitude of factors – strength, flexibility, coordination, vision, the vestibular system – gait analysis can provide a valuable look at what may be keeping you from living the life you want.

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

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Troy, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment in and of itself, it offers valuable data to your physical therapist about your mobility, allowing them to offer more focused and customized approach. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Troy, MO:

• Athletes seeking a competitive edge in their sport — Proper form becomes essential at the pinnacle of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address strength imbalances and restricted mobility, 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 how your recovery’s going and verify that your body is healing and developing strength appropriately.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, involved in a car accident, or had to get surgery, you don’t have to be an athlete to experience positives 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 vet, gait analysis can aid you in finding the suitable footwear, which, together with additional insights from gait analysis, can enhance your speed, preserve energy, and lower the chance of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can drastically disrupt your movement health, along with 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 additionally support 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 greatly influence our daily functioning and mobility health. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to monitor disease progression, evaluate treatment effectiveness, and direct rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies naturally weaken as we age. This may lead to an increased risk of falling for older adults, as well as degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can offer support in identifying ways to alleviate pressure on sore joints, mitigate injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

No matter why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s working to finally run that marathon or just enjoy your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in Troy, MO will employ gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in returning to the experiences you enjoy.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are generally two primary types of gait analysis:

1. Qualitative gait analysis — Also known as clinical gait analysis, this technique entails a physical therapist personally observing your gait in real time and via video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to acquire a broad overview of your mobility health and readily identify any observable patterns. Qualitative gait analysis relies on the professional judgment of the therapist to make assessments.
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, measurable data regarding your gait. By employing precise numerical values, it enables greater thorough analysis and monitoring of your progress over a period of time.

Both qualitative and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Troy, MO possesses the capacity and knowledge to personalize our gait analysis services to meet your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Troy, MO

At Axes, our primary goal is achieving positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in getting back to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we employ every available tool that can help our patients in Troy, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Troy, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists utilize cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide combined qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are positioned on 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 analyze
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to facilitate a more thorough analysis and examination of your movement
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their clinical observations to prescribe efficient, evidence-based treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and compared against the typical population as well as your previous sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Troy, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is dedicated to providing our Troy, MO patients with successful, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that fit their lifestyles and goals. Gait analysis can be part of your customized treatment plan:

• To begin the process, talk to your doctor to evaluate if gait analysis could be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening.
• We’ll perform a detailed history taking and physical examination to understand your objectives, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll build a partnership with you and your doctor, incorporating the results of gait analysis into your comprehensive treatment approach, improving your mobility health, and promoting overall well-being.
• We’ll create personalized treatment plans incorporating methodologies that have been confirmed through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their efficacy.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in selecting proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on achieving proper posture and enhancing movement health, incorporating insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll utilize gait analysis, together with other quantitative information and markers, to constantly evaluate your growth and modify your treatment plan as necessary.

Axes provides far more than just a list of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and advanced technologies at our fingertips, Axes offers a specialized team of physical therapists in Troy, MO who are motivated to deliver excellent results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Troy, 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 Troy, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can greatly enhance your overall health and movement health, whether that involves moving down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are dedicated to offering personalized treatment plans that are proven to work, we are the limited number of clinics in the Troy, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to improve your movement health, contact the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Troy, MO is right for you.