Mobility assessment

Better understanding of one's body in balance and in movement

A mobility assessment represents an innovative diagnostic approach that places movement at the heart of the medical evaluation. Unlike traditional examinations that focus solely on an isolated joint, this approach analyzes your overall function, taking into account the complex interactions between your different joints, your balance, your posture, and your gait.

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The steps involved in a mobility assessment

To understand

In-depth discussion on the patient's problem and expectations.

Customized assessments

Assess the patient's abilities through personalized tests.

Recommendations

Correlation of expectations with patient abilities for the establishment of a roadmap.

Control reports

Evaluation of progress and adjustment of treatment.

Who is the mobility assessment for?

A mobility assessment is for you if you are experiencing pain or functional limitations that impact your daily life. You may be experiencing foot pain that radiates to the knee, instability while walking, difficulty resuming sports activities after an injury, or simply unusual fatigue when moving around. These signs often indicate that your body has developed compensatory mechanisms that, over time, create new imbalances.

A mobility assessment helps uncover these hidden mechanisms and understand why, for example, knee pain might actually originate from a dysfunction in the foot or hip. This evaluation is particularly valuable before surgery, to optimize your preparation, or after an operation, to measure your progress and adjust your rehabilitation program.

Your personalized 4-step journey

Step 1: Understanding

During this initial consultation, we take the time to listen to your story. Each patient arrives with a unique history, specific pain, and particular expectations. We place your problem within its overall functional context by exploring not only your current symptoms, but also your medical history, daily activities, sports activities, and personal goals.

This in-depth discussion allows us to understand what truly matters to you: regaining pain-free walking, returning to your favorite sport, improving your balance to gain independence, or best preparing for surgery. Together, we will define the priorities of your care.

Step 2: Customized assessments

Your assessment is tailored to your specific needs and abilities. It combines static and dynamic examinations to provide a comprehensive view of your mobility. The analysis begins with observation of your morphology and posture in three planes of space, then progresses to balance tests adapted to your age and physical condition. The podiatric analysis on a digital platform reveals the pressure distribution under your feet, while the dynamic gait analysis, performed on an instrumented treadmill or with inertial sensors (Physilog protocol), captures the nuances of your movement: asymmetries, stride length, balance, fluidity of movement, and pelvic tilt.

Specific tests can be added depending on your situation, including muscle assessments, coordination tests, or sports evaluations for athletes. Each test provides a piece of the puzzle to understand your overall functioning.

Step 3: Recommendations

Analyzing all this data allows us to establish a precise correlation between your expectations and your actual abilities. We identify imbalances, muscle weaknesses, compensations, and areas of overload that explain your symptoms. Based on this, we develop a clear and personalized roadmap with you. This may include targeted strengthening exercises, a specific rehabilitation program, adjustments to your athletic technique, or even recommendations to best prepare for surgery.

The goal is to give you concrete tools to progress, transforming knowledge of your body into beneficial actions. This collaborative approach ensures that the treatment plan truly meets your needs and lifestyle.

Step 4: Evaluation and follow-up

The mobility assessment is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a process of continuous improvement. Regular progress reviews allow us to objectively evaluate your progress and measure the effectiveness of the interventions implemented. These reassessments are essential for adjusting your program to your evolving needs, encouraging you by providing tangible visual feedback on your improvements, and maintaining your motivation over time.

This documented follow-up process is particularly important after surgery, where it guides the rehabilitation process, or for athletes who want to optimize their performance. The Ouchy Orthopedic Center remains at your disposal to support you for as long as necessary on your journey towards optimal mobility.

Dynamic analysis

Beyond the static: the importance of analysis in motion

What fundamentally distinguishes a mobility assessment from traditional examinations is its focus on dynamic analysis. Observing your body at rest is insufficient, as most imbalances and dysfunctions only become apparent during movement. When you walk, run, or perform a sporting activity, your body employs complex adaptation and compensation strategies that remain invisible during a static examination.

For example, a patient may have perfect alignment while standing, but develop significant knee valgus as soon as they begin moving or become fatigued. Similarly, abnormal pressure under the foot, gait asymmetries, or gluteus medius weakness only become apparent during dynamic analysis. It is precisely this ability to observe your body in action that allows us to understand the true cause of your symptoms and offer truly effective solutions.

A complete examination, from head to toe

The mobility assessment integrates several complementary components that, together, form a comprehensive evaluation of your function. The morphological analysis examines your body type in three spatial planes: frontal alignment (varus, valgus), sagittal alignment (recurvatum, pelvic tilt), and horizontal alignment (hip rotations). This first step identifies structural imbalances that may influence your movement. The podiatric assessment on a digital platform precisely measures the pressure distribution under your feet in a static position (on one or two feet) and then dynamically during walking.

This data reveals subtle compensations, such as a shift in the center of gravity towards the back of the foot or a reduction in weight-bearing in certain areas, which may indicate a functional hallux limitus or other dysfunctions. Balance tests, tailored to your age and condition, assess your stability in single-leg and double-leg stances, your ability to manage disturbances, and your overall coordination. Gait analysis, performed on an instrumented treadmill with multiple passes, captures the characteristics of your gait: symmetry, stride length and angle, fluidity, upper body posture, and pelvic tilt. Finally, targeted muscle tests evaluate the strength of specific muscle groups, particularly the gluteus medius, weakness of which often triggers a chain reaction of imbalances. All these elements are then correlated to establish a precise functional diagnosis.

The components of your balance sheet

The assessment analyzes the impact of a knee or hip disorder on gait and the compensatory mechanisms put in place.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the assessment intended for?

Anyone experiencing pain or functional disorders that impact their daily life.
Anyone wishing to engage in a sporting activity.
Elderly people who wish to assess their risk of falling as part of a preventive assessment.
People in rehabilitation.

How long does an assessment take?

Each session typically requires 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the tests selected.

How often should I repeat the assessment?

It depends on your situation, but generally at 3 months, then 6 months for optimal monitoring of your progress after surgery or therapy.

Is this assessment suitable for all ages?

The assessment can be useful for all ages. We recommend them for children from 12 years old. It also helps prevent the risk of falls in older people.

Is the assessment reimbursed?

Yes, covered by health insurance, not an accident.

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