Welcome to Clinical Gait Analysis Laboratory

Our Goal is Keeping you Straight & Step Ahead

Gait is the pattern of movement of the limbs of humans, during locomotion over a solid substrate. The gait pattern of how a person walks is called the gait. Human use a variety of gaits, selecting gait based on speed, terrain, the need to maneuver, and energetic efficiency. Different types of walking problems occur without a person's control. Most, but not all, are due to a physical condition. Gait abnormality is a deviation from normal walking (gait). Watching a patient walk is the most important part of the neurological examination.

A normal gait as the body moves forward, one limb typically provides support while the other limb is advanced in preparation for its role as the support limb. The gait cycle (GC) is composed of stance and swing phases. The stance phase is further subdivided into three segments including: Initial double stance.

gait analysis is the process of determining what is causing patients to walk the way they do. This is based on instrumented measurement (which is an objective process) and a biomechanical interpretation of what these measurements mean. Whilst this process can be used to inform clinical decision-making, it is possible to make a clear distinction from it.

What outcome measures are available from quantitative gait analysis?

The following sections will detail four important sets of outcome measures that can be produced by quantitative gait analysis:

• Temporal and Spatial Parameters.
• Kinematics.
• Kinetics.
• Energy Expenditure.

Quantitative gait analyses are useful for characterizing the motions of walking and for documenting progress as a people undergo rehabilitation. They can be beneficial for verifying visual observation, providing objective measurements that substantiate a subjective assessment. Assuming that the able-bodied pattern of walking represents the most efficient bipedal form of ambulation given the constraints of human anatomy, then quantitative gait analyses may be of tremendous benefit for identifying and addressing differences in a prosthetic user's gait from normal.

However, at present, quantitative gait analysis does not appear to be particularly useful for assisting the prosthetist with an individual's prosthetic prescription or for diagnosing problems with the prosthesis because at the moment we possess insufficient knowledge about how to adequately address functional deficiencies in prosthetic ambulation. Further research is required to identify the functional requirements of able-bodied walking, which can be used to establish appropriate criteria for evaluating prosthetic gait.

For the time being, quantitative gait analysis may be best used in the research laboratory as opposed to the clinic, but it is important that we continue to strive to effectively integrate these measurements with the experience and skill of the prosthetist and the subjective feedback of the prosthetic user.