3D Gait Analysis

Physical Therapist During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Poor gait mechanics during running can dramatically reduce performance and cause overuse injuries. Over time, chronic pain sets in that is difficult to ignore. Many runners try to manage pain by wearing a knee brace, taping their ankles or taking NSAIDs. But chronic pain during and after running is not normal. Pain is your body’s way of alerting you that something is wrong.

Similarly, walking is a normal human activity that should be relatively effortless and pain free. Yet many people suffer pain and discomfort while walking. As humans age, walking often becomes difficult to the point of being dangerous. Loss of balance can lead to falls that result in serious fractures, painful contusions and head trauma.

The Value of 3D Gait Analysis

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Alterations in walking and running gait normally evolve and worsen over time. The changes are often so incremental that patients are not even aware of them until pain or an injury gets their attention. Gait analysis gathers quantitative data to help understand the underlying causes of gait abnormalities, That information can then be used to devise a treatment plan, with the goal of restoring healthy gait, eliminating pain and reducing injury risk.

Today’s gait analysis is more precise and revealing than ever before, thanks to innovations in technology. We are now able to analyze gait in three dimensions to get a clearer picture of faulty gait patterns. Our process involves measuring various gait characteristics, identifying abnormal patterns and pinpointing the underlying cause.

At NYDNRehab, our gait analysis package includes a combination of technologies and methodologies unavailable elsewhere in New York:

  • 3D gait analysis equipment and software to measure gait in three dimensions
  • Real-time running feedback retraining
  • Instrumented force treadmill to assess dynamic center of pressure
  • Dual force plate technology to monitor bilateral ground reaction forces
  • Diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasonography

It is important to note that data collected with the most advanced technology is useless without an experienced team of technicians and clinicians to interpret and apply it. The sports medicine team at NYDNRehab has extensive experience with walking and running gait analysis and retraining. We know how to turn hard data into useful information that helps patients correct and restore healthy gait.

3D Gait Analysis at NYDNRehab

The clinic at NYDNRehab is one of few private clinics in the United States to employ sophisticated 3D gait analysis technology to diagnose and treat our patients. Our quantitative approach takes the guesswork out of gait analysis and gives us precise metrics to gauge the effectiveness of individualized treatment plans.

Anyone who walks or runs can benefit from 3D gait analysis and retraining. Pain and disability are not inevitable side effects of aging. The sooner you correct your gait mechanics, the better. Your quality of life, now and in the future, depends on it.

The data collected with 3D gait analysis is much more robust than 2D and provides a clinical certainty impossible to achieve with a 2D gait analysis system. Our clinic has the first 3D system to allow for real time running gait retraining.

Despite 10 years of experience with instrumented gait analysis, attending multiple running medicine conferences, certification in clinical biomechanics, and personal experience with Chris Powers, I decided to undertake this additional certification to ensure that no single detail concerning the assessment and treatment of running injuries escapes me.

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In this instance, an athlete was originally diagnosed with minor quadriceps muscle strain and was treated for four weeks, with unsatisfactory results. When he came to our clinic, the muscle was not healing, and the patients’ muscle tissue had already begun to atrophy.

Upon examination using MSUS, we discovered that he had a full muscle thickness tear that had been overlooked by his previous provider. To mitigate damage and promote healing, surgery should have been performed immediately after the injury occurred. Because of misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment, the patient now has permanent damage that cannot be corrected.

The most important advantage of Ultrasound over MRI imaging is its ability to zero in on the symptomatic region and obtain imaging, with active participation and feedback from the patient. Using dynamic MSUS, we can see what happens when patients contract their muscles, something that cannot be done with MRI. From a diagnostic perspective, this interaction is invaluable.

Dynamic ultrasonography examination demonstrating
the full thickness tear and already occurring muscle atrophy
due to misdiagnosis and not referring the patient
to proper diagnostic workup

Demonstration of how very small muscle defect is made and revealed
to be a complete tear with muscle contraction
under diagnostic sonography (not possible with MRI)

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Complete tear of rectus femoris
with large hematoma (blood)

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Separation of muscle ends due to tear elicited
on dynamic sonography examination

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