Gait analysis in West Alton, MO. Gait analysis, alongside video motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare professionals to assess your mobility to offer better therapy and return you to the activities you love. Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury or you’re trying to manage arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed treatment plan that’s tailored to your lifestyle and goals.

Your West Alton, MO physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Discover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that leads to pain or affects movement health
• Measure and follow treatment outcomes
• Prevent and rehab injuries
• Prescribe orthotic or prosthetic devices
• Select footwear that’s comfortable and helps prevent injuries

At Axes Physical Therapy in West Alton, 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 can help 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 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 move, your physical therapist can offer insights into muscle imbalances, injury risks, the progress of injury rehabilitation, and more. Because our gaits our the product of a multitude 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 West Alton, 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 West Alton, MO physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in West Alton, MO

While gait analysis isn’t a healing method in and of itself, it provides crucial data to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more focused and customized approach. As such, gait analysis can positively impact a wide range of people in West Alton, MO:

• Athletes searching for a competitive advantage — Proper form becomes increasingly important at the highest level of sports. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address strength imbalances and restricted mobility, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recuperating from injury — If you’re coming back from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to monitor how your recovery’s going and confirm that your body is healing and building strength properly.
• Others recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, involved in a car accident, or need post-surgical therapy, you don’t have to be an athlete to experience 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 help you in identifying the right footwear, which, coupled with further insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, preserve energy, and lower the probability of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly impede your movement health, as well as causing phantom pain. Gait analysis allows healthcare professionals to design and fit orthotic and prosthetic devices customized to your body and lifestyle. It can also assist you in adapting to your new device and optimizing its performance and convenience.
• People with neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and other conditions can greatly impact our daily functioning and movement health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to track disease progression, assess treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inevitably weaken as we age. This can cause an elevated risk of falling for older adults, along with degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can be beneficial in identifying ways to lessen pressure on sore joints, mitigate injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor elements of mobility health.

Regardless of why you’re seeking out physical therapy, whether it’s striving to finally run that marathon or simply enjoy your daily life without discomfort, Axes’ licensed physical and occupational therapists in West Alton, MO will employ gait analysis to personalize your treatment, optimize your care, and assist you in returning to the experiences you cherish.

Two Types of Gait Analysis

There are commonly two primary 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 through video recordings. It enables the physical therapist to obtain a overall overview of your movement health and readily detect any observable 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 regarding your gait. By employing precise numerical values, it allows more detailed analysis and tracking of your progress over time.

Both qualitative and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right circumstances and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in West Alton, MO possesses the capacity and expertise to customize our gait analysis services to address your particular needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in West Alton, MO

At Axes, our main goal is achieving positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in getting back to what they love most. To accomplish this, we make use of every available tool that can help our patients in West Alton, MO. When conducting gait analysis in West Alton, MO, our expert physical therapists employ state-of-the-art DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide both 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 converts that complex data into valuable information that your physical therapist can examine
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to aid a more detailed analysis and breakdown of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist integrates these insights with their clinical observations to prescribe successful, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is regularly tracked over time and evaluated against the normal population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in West Alton, MO

Axes Physical Therapy is devoted to providing our West Alton, MO patients with effective, safe, and scientifically validated treatment plans that suit their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be incorporated into your personalized treatment plan:

• To get started, speak with your doctor to determine if gait analysis could be advantageous for you, or visit any Axes’ location for a complimentary injury screening.
• We’ll carry out a comprehensive history taking and physical examination to understand your objectives, preferences, and health background.
• We’ll create a team with you and your doctor, incorporating the results of gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, optimizing your mobility 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 success.
• In addition to offering physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in picking suitable footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on maintaining proper posture and enhancing movement health, incorporating insights acquired from gait analysis.
• We’ll use gait analysis, alongside other quantitative information and indicators, to consistently evaluate your progress and modify your treatment plan as necessary.

Axes delivers much more than simply a series of exercises to complete. With decades of combined experience, clinical expertise, and state-of-the-art technologies at our fingertips, Axes provides a dedicated team of physical therapists in West Alton, MO who are motivated to deliver optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in West Alton, 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 West Alton, MO Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can positively enhance your overall health and performance, regardless of whether that means flying down the court or climbing stairs without discomfort. As we are dedicated to providing individualized, evidence-based treatment plans, we are one of the few clinics in the West Alton, 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 ascertain if gait analysis in West Alton, MO is appropriate for you.