GAIT ANALYSIS

DR DHANANJOY SHAW
Gait
is the translatory progression of human
body as a whole
 Kinematics:Description of Motion
describes the motion (or displacement) of a
segment without regard to the forces that cause
that movement.
 Kinetics
is the area of biomechanics concerned with the
forces producing motion or maintaining
equilibrium.
 Kinematics of gait
Gait has been divided into a number of segments that
make it possible to describe, understand, and analyze
the events that are occurring.

Phases of the Gait Cycle

 A gait cycle spans two successive events of the same limb,
usually initial contact (also called heel contact or heel strike) of
the lower extremity with the supporting surface. During one gait
cycle, each extremity passes through two major phases: a stance
phase, when some part of the foot is in contact with the floor,
which makes up about 60% of the gait Cycle and a swing
phase, when the foot is not in contact with the floor, which
makes up the remaining 40%.
 Subphases of Stance Phase
1. Heel contact or heel strike (T) refers to the instant at which the
heel of the leading extremity strikes the ground .
2. Foot flat (T) in normal gait occurs after initial contact at
approximately 7% of the gait cycle .It is the first instant during
stance when the foot is flat on the ground.
3. Midstance (T) is the point at which the body weight is directly
over the supporting lower extremity usually about 30% of the gait
cycle.
4. Heel-off (T) is the point at which the heel of the reference
extremity leaves the ground , usually about 40% of the gait cycle.
5. Toe-off (T and RLA) is the instant at which the toe of the foot
leaves the ground , usually about 60% of the gait cycle.
Swing Phase
1. Acceleration, begins once the toe leaves the ground and
continues until midswing,or the point at which the
swinging extremity is directly under the body .
2. Midswing (T) occurs approximately when the extremity
passes directly beneath the body, or from the end of
acceleration to the beginning of deceleration.Midswing
(RLA) encompasses the period from maximum knee
flexion.
3. Deceleration (T) occurs after midswing when limb is
decelerating in preparation for heel strike.
Gait Terminology
Temporal variables include stance time,
single-limb and double-support time, swing
time,stride and step time, cadence, and
speed.
Distance variables include stride length,
step length and width,and degree of toe-
out.
 Stance time is the amount of time that elapses during
the stance phase of one extremity in a gait cycle.

 Single-support time is the amount of time that elapses

during the period when only one extremity is on the
supporting surface in a gait cycle.

 Double-support time is the amount of time spent

with both feet on the ground during one gait cycle.
 Stride length is the linear distance between
two successive events that are accomplished by
the same lower extremity during gait.

 Step length is the linear distance between two

successive points of contact of opposite
extremities.
 Cadence is the number of steps taken by a
person per unit of time. A step frequency or
cadence of about 110 steps per minute can be
considered as “typical” for adult men; a typical
cadence for women is about 116 steps per
minute.
Step width, or width of the walking base, may be
found by measuring the linear distance between the
midpoint of the heel of one foot and the same point on
the other foot(is about 3.5 inches and varies within a range
of 1 to 5 inches.)
Degree of toe-out represents the angle of foot
placement (FP) and may be found by measuring the
angle formed by each foot’s line of progression and a
line intersecting the center of the heel and the second
toe. The angle for men normally is about 7 degree.
Saunders’ “Determinants”
of Gait
 The “determinants” were supposed to
represent adjustments made by the pelvis,
hips, knees, and ankles that help to keep
movement of the body’s center of mass to
a minimum.
 By decreasing the vertical and lateral
excursions of the body’s center of mass it
was thought that energy expenditure
would be less and gait more efficient.
PELVIC ROTATION
 Pelvis rotates to 8
degrees in
transverse plane
thus flattens the
Arc of the passage
of CM motion.
LATERAL PELVIC LIST

 Occurs in frontal
plane ,the pelvis
drops on the side
of the side of the
swing leg.
 Lowers CM .
STANCE KNEE FLEXION

 Shortens the leg

during stance
 Flexion at the
beginning and end
of stance
smoothes the
abrupt changes in
CM
 KNEE, ANKLE & FOOT INTERACTIONS

Interaction of the movts of

the knee, foot ant ankle
,which may work
together to minimize the
excursion of the C.O.M.
After heel strike ,knee
flexion ,Ankle planter
flexion and fore foot
pronation takes place
which causes shortening
of the limb and hence
prevents the upward
shifting of the C.O.G
Physiologic valgus of the
knee
The determinants are
Pelvic rotation in the transverse plane of about 8 degrees, which
is thought to flatten the arc of the passage of the center of mass.
Lateral pelvic tilt in the frontal plane, in which the pelvis drops on
the side of the swing leg, which is thought to keep the peak of the
rise lower than if it did not drop;
Knee flexion in stance phase, which should keep the center of
mass from rising as much as it would have to if the body had to
pass over a completely extended knee;
Interaction of the movements of the foot, knee, and ankle,
which may work together to minimize the excursion of the center of
mass; and
Physiologic valgus of the knee, which is said to reduce side-to-
side movement of the center of mass in frontal plane.
 Kinetics of gait
 Ground Reaction
Force
When a person takes
a step, forces are
applied to the ground
by the foot and by
the ground to the
foot.These forces are
equal in magnitude
but opposite in
direction.
Center of Pressure
The CoP of the foot on the supporting surface moves along a path
during gait and produces a characteristic pattern. In barefoot
walking, the CoP starts at the posterolateral edge of the heel at the
beginning of the stance phase and moves in a nearly linear manner
through the midfoot area,remaining lateral to the midline, and then
moves medially across the ball of the foot with a large
concentration along the metatarsal break. The CoP then moves to
second and first toes during terminal stance.
Kinetic Analysis

 A kinetic analysis is performed to

understand the forces acting on the
joints, the moments produced by the
muscles crossing the joints, and the
energy requirements of gait.
Heel Strike to Foot Flat

HIP : Flexion: 30°- 25°

Isometric to eccentric of G.
max,and hams

KNEE: Flexion : 0° -15°

Concentric to eccentric of
quads
ANKLE: 0°-15° plantar flexion
Concentric of planter flexors
Foot Flat to Midstance
HIP: Extension - 25° flex to
0°
Concentric to no activitity of
G.max

KNEE: Extension- 15° flexion -

5° flexion
Concentric to no activitity of
Quadriceps

ANKLE: 15° P.Flex to 5-10°

dorsi flexion
Eccentric contraction of
gastrocnemius, soleus and
P.Flexors
 Midstance to Heel Off
HIP: Extension - 0° to 10-20°
hyper extention
Eccentric contraction of hip
flexors
KNEE: Extension- 5° flexion - 0°
flexion
no activity
ANKLE: P.Flex - 5-10° dorsi
flexion to 0° dorsi flexion
Eccentric to concentric
contraction of soleus
TOES(MTP): 0-30° of hyper
extention
 Heel Off to Toe Off
HIP: Flexion - 20° of hyper
extention to 0°
Concentric contraction of hip
flexors
KNEE: Flexion- 30° flexion
Eccentric to no activity of
quads
ANKLE: P.Flex - 0° dorsi
flexion to 20° P.flexion
concentric contraction of
soleus and gastrocnemius
TOES(MTP): 50-60° of hyper
extention
 Initial swing to Mid swing
HIP: Flexion - 0° -20° to 30°
of flexion
Concentric contraction of hip
flexors
KNEE: Flexion- 30° to 60° of
flexion
Concentric contraction of
biceps femoris ,sartorius
and gracilis
ANKLE: D.Flex - 20° P.flexion
to neutral
concentric contraction of
tibialis anterior
 Mid swing to Terminal swing
HIP: remains at 30° of
flexion
Eccentric contraction of G
max
KNEE: Extention- 30° to
0° of flexion
Concentric contraction of
quadriceps
ANKLE:remains in neutral
isometric contraction of
tibialis anterior
 Frontal Plane Joint Angles
 During the first 20% of stance, the pelvis or the
contralateral side drops about 5 deg, which results in
adduction of the hip.
 The hip abducts smoothly to about 5 deg of
abduction, peaking about toeoff,then returns to
neutral at initial contact.
 The knee remains more or less neutral, except for a
brief abduction peaking at about 7 deg in midswing,
and then returns to neutral.
 The ankle everts from about 5 deg of inversion to 5
deg of eversion in early stance and inverts about 15
deg during push-off.
Transverse Plane Joint Angles

The hip externally rotates until approximately

midswing and then internally rotates to near
neutral before initial contact .

The knee joint remains relatively neutral throughout

most of the gait cycle but externally rotates in late
stance until about foot flat.

Ankle : at heel strike – inversion of calcaneum

at foot flat – neutral position of calcaneum
at mid stance – eversion of calcaneum
et heel off – back to inversion of calcaneum
Gait Analysis: Techniques
1. Temporal / Spatial – velocity, cadence, step
length, etc.

2. Kinematics - the movement of the body in

space without any reference to forces.

3. Kinetics - the forces involved in producing

these movements.

4. Dynamic Electromyography - the study of

muscular activity patterns during walking.
Temporal-Spatial
Parameters
 Stop watch and
marks on the
floor

 Gait Pressure
Mat
Kinematics can be recorded using a
variety of systems and methodologies

 Passive Marker Systems

 Active Marker Systems

 Electromagnetic Systems
 Passive Marker Systems

 use reflective markers

and multiple cameras
(typically 6 to 8 cameras
simultaneously).

 The cameras send out

infra red light signals
and detect the reflection
from the markers placed
on the body.
Force Platforms
 Active Marker Systems
 are similar to the passive
marker system but use
"active" markers.
 The markers are triggered
to illuminate.
 This signal is used to
triangulate the location of
the marker.
 The advantage is that
individual markers work at
predefined frequencies and
therefore, have their own
"identity".
Electromagnetic Systems
 track the position (X, Y,
and Z coordinates) and
orientation (elevation,
and roll) of small sensors
attached to various
segments of the body as
they move through
space.
 Direct Linear Transformation
Camera 1 Camera 2

Identified Markers
3D Image 3D Image

DLT
Take all
12 Raw Video
Camera 3………… Camera 12 Camera Views

Virtual Hip Joint Centers

Kinetics

 Force Platform
 Electromyography
Force Platform

 The reaction force

produced by the
ground is called the
Ground Reaction Force
(GRF), which is
basically the reaction
to the force the body
exerts on the ground.
Use Inverse
Dynamics to
compute
Joint Forces,
Joint Torques
(Moments)
and Joint
Power.
 Electromyography

0.051mm, 25 Gauge Needle

insulated, hooked
wires
 Processing
Raw EMG Signal

Rectified EMG Signal

Enveloped EMG Signal

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