Gait disorders belong to a family of functional problems that interfere with your positional awareness, your normal means of walking or running, and your ability to keep yourself upright. Living with a gait condition can not only prevent you from doing the things love, but it can also put you at risk for falling and injuring yourself.
Gait disorders can cause abnormal movements to the way you walk and run, and these can become exaggerated with age. As you get older, these abnormalities may become more pronounced. Strokes, inner ear problems, foot problems, and even something as simple as ill-fitting shoes can all worsen a gait disorder.
Request an appointment with our Union City & Jersey City, NJ physical therapy office today. At Top Choice Physical Therapy & Wellness, our specialty services on gait disorders can help to improve your quality of life!
How can physical therapy help with gait disorders?
Sometimes, abnormalities in gait can be corrected through a “retraining” where you learn proper techniques. Retraining is learning proper techniques for movement, and can sometimes correct abnormalities in gait. Runners can especially benefit from this type of therapy.
Muscle weakness, especially around the hips and core, is often a primary contributing factor to poor balance and falls. With strength and balance training, patients are better equipped to recover from unexpected lapses in gait or a momentary loss of balance to prevent falls.
Perhaps one of the biggest aspects of your treatment plan will be gait training. Gait training will include activities to not only improve gait mechanics, but also increase your confidence and safety in navigating across different terrains and around different obstacles. Our physical therapists will also evaluate the need for an assistive device, or perhaps make modifications to a device you are currently using.
Both static and dynamic balance training will likely also be incorporated into your physical therapy treatment to help your body learn how to better respond to environmental challenges to their balance. For example, you may be asked to stand on one leg while performing a mentally-challenging task, such as reciting the alphabet or reading a paragraph of text out loud. Our physical therapists will also teach you balance strategies to help mitigate fall risk.
Endurance training may also be used, not just to improve muscle endurance for activity, but also to improve aerobic capacity for activity, both of which will reduce fatigue as a risk factor for falls when walking or completing daily tasks.
What are the causes of gait disorders?
Some common vestibular conditions that may be adding to your mobility and gait issues include:
Injury or ailment
Even if your brain and neurological system are perfectly coordinated, a sudden injury, disease, accident, or other illness that causes muscle weakness can throw your balance off, making it difficult to stay upright.
Neurological issues
There are hundreds of different neurological problems that can cause balance and gait issues. They could be Parkinson’s disease, a brain injury, or a stroke.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)
BPPV occurs when calcium debris breaks off in the inner ear, causing balance issues.
Contact Our Union City & Jersey City, NJ Physical Therapy Clinic Today!
Gait problems do not have to rule your life. Our Union City & Jersey City, NJ physical therapists can teach you the best techniques for improving your balance and walking ability.
If you are having difficulty staying steady, it is critical to seek help, as you do not want to fall and injure yourself. Request an appointment at Top Choice Physical Therapy & Wellness today to find the relief you’ve been searching for.
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