Just as our eyes become less reliable as we age, observational gait analysis, on its own, has become an unreliable evaluation method in both labs and clinics. As a result of the rapidly-evolving technological landscape, the fields of medicine and biomechanics have embraced state-of-the-art systems designed to provide more accurate, comprehensive, real-time patient data.

Now, in order to deliver the best care to those experiencing issues with lower-extremity muscle movement and control, you'll need the right digital measurement tools in place, too.

When it comes to a patient's gait, it's critical to identify and address any abnormalities and/or asymmetries, as these may indicate underlying health problems. Gait analysis, in addition to physical examinations, motion/muscle assessments, and electromyography readings, is an essential evaluation technique used to do so.

As previously mentioned, it's important to use an objective means of analyzing gait to eliminate any errors due to human observation. Investing in a gait analysis system will ensure that you have access to the most accurate patient gait data, resulting in better treatment outcomes.

When searching for a solution, you’ll want to consider the following features that may ultimately benefit your patients beyond what other practitioners can provide, thus placing your practice a step above the rest:

• Quick & easy system set-up
• Integration with other gait lab technologies, such as EMG and motion capture systems
• Automatic calculation of gait parameters, e.g. step and gait time, distance, velocity and cadence
• Automatic detection of foot strikes and foot segmentation, which aids in calculating toe-in or toe-out angle, compared to the line of progression
• Automatic reporting which translates into visible biofeedback for the client to increase compliance
• Data collection capabilities designed to help you evaluate the effectiveness of your treatments, identify/correcting gait dysfunctions, and monitor progress 

Gaining immediate insight into gait cycle issues and timing will allow you to more quickly create individually-tailored treatment programs that are based on data, which you can then validate over time.

Clinicians and researchers around the world are using systems like the F-Scan™, featured above, to analyze, monitor and improve patients’ gaits. If you would like to accelerate your patients’ path to peak performance, explore additional pressure measurement systems that are transforming clinical and research gait evaluations in our brand new eBook!