Gait analysis in Wood River, IL. Gait analysis, also called motion analysis, is a method used by physical therapists and other healthcare professionals to assess your movement to offer personalized treatment and return you to the things you love most. Whether you’re an athlete dealing with an injury or you’re trying to cope with arthritis, gait analysis can be part of an overall, evidence-backed therapy program that’s personalized for your lifestyle and goals.

Your Wood River, IL physical therapist can use gait analysis to:

• Diagnose and treat gait disorders
• Uncover underlying musculoskeletal or nerve impairment that causes pain or influences movement health
• Assess and track 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 Wood River, IL, our staff of physical therapists base our practice on one thing: positive patient outcomes. If you’re curious if gait analysis would be beneficial for you, call the Axes’ location closest to you or make an appointment through our website to get started with your treatment today.

What Is Gait Analysis?

When done by qualified 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 status of injury rehabilitation, 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 affecting your movement health.

In a gait analysis appointment, your Axes physical therapist in Wood River, IL 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 Wood River, IL physical therapist can customize your treatment and help you get back to the things you love most.

Who Gait Analysis Can Help in Wood River, IL

While gait analysis isn’t a treatment in and of itself, it provides essential data to your physical therapist about your motion, allowing them to offer more targeted and customized care. As such, gait analysis can benefit a wide range of people in Wood River, IL:

• Athletes looking for a competitive edge — Correct form becomes essential at the pinnacle of athletic competition. Gait analysis allows athletes to improve their form, address muscle imbalances and restricted mobility, and prevent injury.
• Athletes recovering from injury — If you’re recovering from an ACL tear or other sports injury, gait analysis can be used to monitor your progress and confirm that your body is healing and developing strength adequately.
• Anyone else recovering from injury — Whether you were injured at work, in a slip and fall, or had to get surgery, you don’t have to be an athlete to derive positives from gait analysis in facilitating your healing from trauma.
• Runners — Whether you’re just starting out in a beginner running program or you’re an experienced runner, gait analysis can aid you in identifying the suitable footwear, which, together with additional insights from gait analysis, can improve your speed, save energy, and reduce the chance of injury.
• Amputees — Having a limb removed can significantly interrupt your mobility health, along with resulting in 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.
• People suffering from neurological conditions — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, stroke, and various conditions can significantly impact our everyday lives and mobility health. Gait analysis enables healthcare professionals to monitor disease progression, judge treatment effectiveness, and guide rehabilitation strategies.
• Older adults — Our bodies inherently weaken as we age. This can result in an increased risk of falling for older adults, along with degenerative conditions like tendonitis and arthritis. Gait analysis can provide assistance in discovering ways to alleviate pressure on painful joints, minimize injury risks, and examine the cognitive and motor elements of movement health.

Regardless of the reason you’re considering physical therapy, whether it’s aiming to finally run that marathon or just engage in your day-to-day life without pain, Axes’ licensed therapists in Wood River, IL will apply gait analysis to customize your treatment, maximize your care, and help you in returning to the pursuits 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 approach entails a physical therapist directly watching your gait in real time and through video recordings. It allows the physical therapist to obtain a broad assessment of your mobility health and readily detect any observable 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 specific technology, including sensors and motion capture software, to offer objective, measurable data concerning your gait. By utilizing precise numerical values, it enables greater in-depth analysis and tracking of your progress over a period of time.

Both clinical and instrument-assisted gait analysis are suitable in the right situations and with specific patients. At Axes, our team in Wood River, IL has the capabilities and expertise to personalize our gait analysis services to address your individual needs.

Axes’ DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis in Wood River, IL

At Axes, our main focus is delivering positive patient outcomes and assisting individuals in getting back to their cherished activities. To accomplish this, we make use of every available tool that can help our patients in Wood River, IL. When conducting gait analysis in Wood River, IL, our highly skilled physical therapists employ cutting-edge DorsaVi video motion analysis to provide combined qualitative and quantitative services.

With DorsaVi video motion analysis:

• Sensors are attached to your body that monitor your movement, muscle activity, and static postures
• DorsaVi’s software translates that algorithmic information into helpful information that your physical therapist can review
• During playback, your movements are slowed down to aid a more comprehensive analysis and breakdown of your motion
• Your Axes’ physical therapist incorporates these insights with their professional observations to prescribe efficient, proven treatment modalities
• Your progress is continuously tracked over time and evaluated against the normal population as well as your prior sessions

Axes’ Approach to Gait Analysis in Wood River, IL

Axes Physical Therapy is committed to offering our Wood River, IL patients with effective, safe, and research-supported treatment plans that align with their daily lives and objectives. Gait analysis can be part of your customized treatment plan:

• To get started, ask your doctor if gait analysis could be helpful for you, or come to any Axes’ location for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening.
• We’ll perform a comprehensive patient interview and assessment to gain insight into your objectives, preferences, and medical history.
• We’ll form a partnership with you and your doctor, incorporating the insights from gait analysis into your holistic treatment approach, improving your movement health, and promoting overall wellness.
• We’ll design personalized treatment plans integrating methodologies that have been proven through research and peer-reviewed studies, ensuring their success.
• In addition to providing physical therapy exercises, we’ll help you in selecting proper footwear, braces, or alternative devices, while educating you on achieving proper posture and optimizing movement health, drawing on insights obtained from gait analysis.
• We’ll use gait analysis, alongside other quantitative data and markers, to continuously assess your growth and adjust your treatment plan accordingly.

Axes provides much more than simply a series of exercises to tick off. With decades of combined experience, professional knowledge, and cutting-edge technologies at our fingertips, Axes provides a dedicated team of physical therapists in Wood River, IL who are motivated to deliver optimal results in your treatment.

Other services we offer in Wood River, IL include:

• Shoulder Pain Treatment
• Back Pain Treatment
• 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

Call Axes’ for Your Gait Analysis in Wood River, IL Today

Gait analysis is an invaluable tool that can positively enhance your overall health and movement health, whether that means moving down the court or playing with your grandkids without pain. As we are dedicated to providing individualized, evidence-based treatment plans, we’re among the few clinics in the Wood River, IL area that offer video motion analysis. If you want to optimize your movement health, reach out to the nearest Axes location or contact us online to find out if gait analysis in Wood River, IL is right for you.