Gait analysis in Villa Ridge, MO. Gait analysis, also referred to as motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare providers to examine your mobility to offer personalized therapy and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete recovering from an injury or you’re trying to handle arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed plan of care that’s customized for your lifestyle and goals.

Your Villa Ridge, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Discover hidden musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that causes pain or impacts 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 Villa Ridge, MO, our staff of physical therapists are committed to one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re wondering if gait analysis can help you, call the Axes’ location most convenient for you or schedule an appointment online to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When carried out by credentialed physical therapists, gait analysis is an evaluation 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 progress of injury recovery, and more. Because our gaits our the product of a combination 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 Villa Ridge, 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 exact understanding of your gait, your Villa Ridge, MO physical therapist can tailor your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Villa Ridge, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment by itself, it offers valuable information to your physical therapist about your movement health, allowing them to offer more specific and personalized care. As such, gait analysis can be advantageous for a wide range of people in Villa Ridge, MO:

• Athletes searching for a performance boost — Proper form becomes vital at the pinnacle of competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, identify muscle imbalances and limited range of motion, 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 your progress and confirm that your body is healing and developing strength correctly.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured on the job, in a slip and fall, or underwent recent surgery, you don’t have to be an athlete to derive positives 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 veteran, gait analysis can aid you in finding the suitable footwear, which, coupled with further insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, preserve energy, and reduce the chance of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can greatly disrupt your mobility health, in addition to causing phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices tailored to your body and lifestyle. It can also help you in adjusting to your new device and maximizing its performance and convenience.
• Those with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can significantly affect our everyday lives and movement health. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to track disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and direct rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably lose strength as we age. This can cause an heightened risk of falling for older adults, in addition to degenerative conditions such as tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can be beneficial in finding ways to alleviate pressure on aching joints, mitigate injury risks, and evaluate the cognitive and motor elements of movement health.

Regardless of the reason you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s striving to ultimately run that marathon or simply engage in your daily life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Villa Ridge, MO will apply gait analysis to personalize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in getting back 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 method entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait in real time and via video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to gain a broad overview of your mobility health and effortlessly identify any apparent patterns. Qualitative gait analysis depends on the professional judgment of the therapist to draw conclusions.
2. Quantitative gait analysis — Also known as instrument-assisted gait analysis, this technique employs specialized technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to offer objective, quantifiable data about your gait. By employing precise numerical values, it allows greater thorough analysis and monitoring of your improvement over a period of time.

Both qualitative and quantitative gait analysis are suitable in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Villa Ridge, MO possesses the ability and expertise to personalize our gait analysis services to meet your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Villa Ridge, MO

At Axes, our primary aim is achieving positive patient outcomes and helping individuals in getting back to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we employ every available tool to support our patients in Villa Ridge, MO. When conducting gait analysis in Villa Ridge, MO, our highly skilled physical therapists utilize advanced DorsaVi video motion analysis to offer combined qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are positioned on your body that track your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software interprets that complex data into useful information that your physical therapist can review
• During video replay, your movements are slowed down to facilitate a more thorough analysis and breakdown of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist combines these insights with their professional observations to prescribe successful, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and evaluated against the average population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Villa Ridge, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to providing our Villa Ridge, MO patients with effective, safe, and evidence-backed treatment plans that suit their lifestyles and goals. Gait analysis can be included in your individualized treatment plan:

• To start the process, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be beneficial for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll perform a thorough history taking and physical examination to understand your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll create a partnership with you and your doctor, including the findings of gait analysis into your all-encompassing treatment approach, improving your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll develop personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been proven through research and scholarly studies, ensuring their success.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in selecting appropriate footwear, braces, or other devices, while informing you on achieving proper posture and enhancing movement health, incorporating insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll employ gait analysis, together with other quantitative data and markers, to continuously evaluate your progress and adjust your treatment plan as needed.

Axes delivers far more than just a series 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 Villa Ridge, MO who are driven to deliver optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Villa Ridge, 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 Villa Ridge, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can significantly improve your overall health and performance, regardless of whether that involves moving down the field or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are dedicated to offering customized, evidence-based treatment plans, we are the few clinics in the Villa Ridge, MO area that provide video motion analysis. If you want to optimize your movement health, call the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Villa Ridge, MO is suitable for you.