Gait refers to your walking stride, how fast you walk, and the way that your hips, feet, and legs move together to help you take each step. Occupational therapy can analyze your balance and gait and help prevent falls from happening! This is especially important as one becomes older and falls represent a great risk to your health and physical condition. This is also true of children who may have balance or gait dysfunctions. Libra OT is here to support you and/or your child! Contact Libra OT today to find out how having a licensed occupational therapist on your team can make a difference for you or your child.
Leg Strength Is Just the Beginning
When you think about walking, you automatically think about your legs. In order to take a step, you need to have a certain amount of strength in your calf muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. However, your legs are only the starting point for the muscles involved in keeping you balanced, upright, and mobile. To maintain a walking posture, you also need strength in your back, abdomen, and to a certain extent, your arms. In other words, you need a certain amount of total body strength in order to take a single step. If you or your child’s muscle development is slowed in any one of these areas, walking is difficult or even impossible. Fortunately, an occupational therapist who specializes in this type of therapy is an expert in movement. They can assess your current level of strength, as well as areas that need to improve. Through occupational therapy, you or your child can gain the strength they need to make walking easier.
Occupational Therapy Can Improve Balance
Many people have the strength they need to walk but lack the balance. Unfortunately, helping one improve their balance is not as simple as it may sound. Balance is actually a complex system where the body makes millions of adjustments to your posture all day based on the feedback your brain receives. Some of these adjustments are predictive, others are reactive. Predictive adjustments happen all of the time when you walk uphill, see a rock in your path, step over a toy on the floor, or walk upstairs. Reactive adjustments happen when you unexpectedly trip, step on a building block, find an uneven spot in the grass or catch the edge of your bed with your toe. Both are vital in maintaining your balance when you walk. Fortunately, occupational therapy can help you learn how to make adjustments that keep you upright as they walk.
If you or someone who is dear to you is experiencing trouble with their gait or balance, contact Libra OT today. We can help you feel steady and confident on your feet so you can get back to doing what you love!
Get Started Today On Your Wellness Journey
Balancing Your Health and Life Through Occupational Therapy