How to Use Foot Sensors in Clinical Gait Analysis
The body is a complex machine. When it comes to biomechanical structures, however, this is particularly true of the foot. With hundreds of working parts comprised of bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments with a load-bearing capacity of hundreds of pounds, feet are pretty magical structures. That means, of course, that when something goes wrong in your foot … you notice.
For most of human history, we’ve had to rely on broad experience and guesswork to tell what’s happening in a particular person’s lower appendages. While humanity does have a lot of experience on which to draw, so much can slip under the wire, undetected, without the right technology. Happily, that is technology we have today.
Welcome to the gait analysis system for clinical analysis.
Everything You Need to Know About Clinical Gait Analysis Systems
So what exactly is a gait analysis system, and how does it help you determine the inner workings of the human foot?
Foot measurement systems are all about figuring out where the pressure points are. If you know which parts of the foot are pressing on the shoe, you can respond in many ways by:
- Spotting maladaptive walking, running and standing movements
- Relieving pressure with orthotics or insoles
- Applying physical therapy to strengthen particular regions
- Modifying the stance or increasing the efficacy of running mechanics
Let’s dive deeper into what a clinical gait analysis system is and what it can do for you.
Who Uses a Clinical Gait Analysis System?
The gait analysis system is designed for a range of different users, including:
- Podiatrists: Cutting-edge technologies that allow them to view the human foot on a highly granular level in real time. Patients who complain of discomfort or for whom other treatments no longer work.
- Physiotherapists: Want to keep an eye on the foot over time as you apply different exercises? PTs can use foot sensor technology to watch the healing happen.
- Coaches and trainers: One of the best ways to take an athlete to the next level is to get nitpicky. Athletes whose trainers use such technologies to improve form routinely surpass their competition.
What Does a Gait Analysis System Measure?
While measurement systems use complicated technology, they are quite simple to understand:
- An insole whose surface is covered by thousands of sensors
- Integrated IMU to provide velocity, timing and positional information
- Wireless transmitter technology that sends sensor data to a nearby device
- Software which records readings from those sensors and analyzes them
Together, this paints a moving picture of what is happening inside the shoe so that you can make the best possible clinical decisions.
How to Gather Gait Analysis Data in Real-Time?
Perhaps the best thing about a gait analysis system that uses wireless technology is that you can take it anywhere you want. Say goodbye to the days of cumbersome stationary machines with wires running everywhere. Cutting-edge foot sensor technology from XSENSOR allows patients to slip discreet soles into their shoes and forget all about them.
That means you can take foot sensors to the track, the field, the gym, the stairs, the clinic or anywhere else. Now you can see what’s happening inside that shoe, in 3D and in real-time, wherever you want.
Clinicians have more power than ever before to see exactly what is happening during a full gait cycle, over time, and make their suggestions accordingly. Now you can design more responsive orthotics, prescribe more accurate physical therapy, and increase the efficiency of a healthy individual’s movements.
Let XSENSOR Foot Sensor Technology Guide Your Next Steps
XSENSOR is a leading figure in the sensor space, providing industry-changing technologies that have transformed the worlds of athletics and physical therapy. Our cutting-edge measurement systems leave no millimetre to guesswork, creating an accurate picture of the entire foot that enables you to make the best possible clinical decisions in the shortest amount of time.
Our gait analysis system is used in the field, the gym, the hospital, and anywhere else you need it to make the soundest possible decisions about someone’s movement and health. You’re never limited to a single machine or location with simple, take-anywhere technologies. Our goal was to make our measurement systems accessible anywhere in the world, and we are proud to say we’ve achieved it.
Want to learn more about our intelligent clinical insoles so you can put them to use in your practice? We invite you to take a look or get in touch with us today.
