Clinical gait analysis is used by multidisciplinary care teams to assist in pre-surgical planning for patients with impaired mobility related to conditions such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophies, brain and spinal cord injuries or other neuromuscular impairments. We provide a detailed analysis of factors affecting your child’s gait (walking and movement) that is used to customize treatments and interventions specific to your child’s unique needs.
Our motion analysis experts work closely with your child’s doctors to examine all factors related to your child’s movement patterns and plan appropriate surgical procedures or treatments to improve function and comfort. Importantly, our findings allow the care team to develop a comprehensive surgical and/or treatment plan that reduces the chance that your child will need additional corrective surgeries.
Our lab recently received accreditation from the Commission for Motion Laboratory Accreditation, an independent organization established to promote and standardize the use of motion analysis as part of clinical care for people with movement disorders. This accreditation acknowledges the outstanding care provided at our lab, as we are one of only 14 accredited labs in the nation and one of only three in Texas.
About the Lab
Texas Children’s Motion Analysis and Human Performance Laboratory leverages the expertise of a team of physicians, therapists, biomechanists and exercise physiologists along with state-of-the-art computer and sensor technology to study, analyze and help improve how the human body moves. The laboratory is equipped with a 3D motion capture system, force platforms, force plate instrumented treadmill, electromyography system and a metabolic cart.
Motion analysis is used to provide your health care team with information about your movement patterns, muscle activation and force generation during functional tasks such as walking, running and jumping. This type of information is not visible to the naked eye and cannot be assessed with visual observations.
