Gait Analysis is an important tool to aid in talking to clients about animals. The more you learn about chiropractic and quadruped movement the more you will understand that anything can cause anything. With quadrupeds, more than one thing can cause the same gait issue. Your goal is to help the client understand this as you help their animal move better. This series of lectures begins at the head and ends with the feet and tail. It explores what each part of the body contributes to movement of the whole. Dr. Ormston examines some of the differences between bipedal and quadrupedal gait. He also points out some of the major differences in canine and equine locomotion. The last series of lectures in this series looks at ways to measure differences in gait. The methods include walking beside the animal, watching, listening and slow motion video with freeze frame capability.
Certificate: AVCA & IVCA
Duration: 9 hours
Assessments: Yes
Skill Level: All levels
Lectures: 6
Quizzes: 6
Language: English
Gait Analysis 101
Gait Analysis parts 1 through 6 are individual courses taught by Dr. Ormston that progressively take the student from seeing the biomechanics as a complex system of motion to seeing the individual elements of gait that make it possible to be able to access animals in motion. Dr. O explains that being able to identify the organization of biomechanics of movement in animals are important for the animal chiropractor to be able to diagnose and successfully treat the patient. Since normal movement of the animal is what we strive for as animal chiropractors, understanding step by step the process of identifying what we see in normal animal movement and what constitutes abnormal animal movement is essential. Evaluating the animal moving is far more important than examining the animal at rest in this discipline. Gait analysis allows the animal chiropractor to begin to understand the means by which gravity interacts with various species, various disciplines of athletics, and different jobs of animal patients. This allows the animal chiropractor to become more effective at communicating with clients about their animals. Leg Length is a lecture that will be explained in greater detail during the laboratory session for this module. This lecture by Dr. Ormston explains the method of measuring leg length of the animal and using it as a means of determining subluxation in the upper cervicals and the hip. This lecture explains the technique and the philosophy behind using this technique. In addition to this Dr. O explains to the student how the human hip anatomy differs from the animal hip anatomy. Introduction to Video Gait Analysis is a short course that explains some technical terms that are important if selecting equipment and recording quality usable videos that can help identify problems in quadruped gait as well as help to record the progress made as treatment plans are carried out. Measuring Gait 1, 2 and 3 are individual courses taught by Dr. Ormston that identify and describe the importance of posture and how it relates to the brain’s ability to respond to gravity. These courses go on to identify the difference between subjective and objective gait analysis and how they can be beneficial and detrimental to diagnosis of the movement issues which translate into changes in the neurological system. It is the neurological system that we correct in chiropractic adjustment. This course gives the student a clear system by which to access patients.