Gait Analysis and Biomechanics

Chapter 12

Overview
Defining the gait cycle Guessing game: sagittal joint kinematics Sprinting kinematics Ground reaction forces
Walking at different speeds Running Implications on Joint Moments

One pathology

Basic Vocabulary
The gait cycle: initial contact of one leg to initial contact of the same leg
E.G. right heelstrike right heelstrike

Includes two phases

Stance Phase: when the foot is on the ground Swing Phase: when the leg is swinging forwards

SWING SWING

SWING

Basic Vocabulary
Includes important events:
Initial contact (heelstrike) Toe-off Opposite toe-off (e.g. when the left leg leaves the ground) Opposite initial contact (e.g. when the left leg finishes swinging and hits the ground again)

Basic Vocabulary
Base of support
At heelstrike, you are in double limb support In the middle of stance phase, you are in single limb support After opposite heelstrike, you are once again in double limb support
SWING SWING SWING

Cadence and Step Length

Step Length
distance from one foot strike to the next (left to right or right to left) about 0.75 m for normal adults

Stride Length (one gait cycle)

two successive steps (by both left and right feet) about 1.5 m for normal adults

 Cadence
number of steps (left and right) taken per minute about 110 st/min for normal adults Like a pendulum, lower-limb swings at a frequency (cadence) inversely proportional to its length, so shorter people have a higher cadence.

 Velocity
about 1.5 m/s or 5 km/hr in normal adults

Velocity = stride length x cadence 120 and therefore:

Stride length = 120 x velocity cadence

Children
Children have shorter legs, so cadence is increased
170 st/min at age 1 yr to 140 st/min at 7y

Stride length is roughly the same as height (stature), so a child 0.5 m tall will have an expected stride length of about 0.5 m Velocity is roughly 1 stature/s, so a child 0.5 m tall will have an expected walking velocity of about 0.5 m/s

Guessing Game
Sagittal plane joint angle Graphed for one side from heelstrike to heelstrike Vertical line separates stance phase from swing phase

Joint Kinematics: sample

Ankle
Dorsiflexion

Plantarflexion

Heelstrike

Toe-off

Heelstrike

Joint Kinematics
Ankle
Dorsiflexion

Plantarflexion

Heelstrike

Toe-off

Heelstrike

Ankle Rockers (Perry)

First rocker: ankle platarflexion after heelstrike Second Rocker: ankle dorsiflexion
Foot is stationary Tibia is rotating over the foot

Third rocker: Forefoot dorsiflexion as heel rises (foot rocker)

Knee

Flexion

Extension

Heelstrike

Toe-off

Heelstrike

Hip

Flexion

Extension

Heelstrike

Toe-off

Heelstrike

Sprinting looks quite different

Note femur parallel to ground Note clearance

Ground Reaction Force

(Newtons 3rd Law of motion) Walking
Heel strike transient Slow Fast

Running
No double-limb support

One key to understanding gait

Moments!

External Moments
Hip

Knee

Ankle

External Moments
Hip

Knee

Ankle

External Moments
Hip

Knee

Ankle

External Moments
Hip

Knee

Ankle

External Moments
Hip

Knee

Ankle

Key to Understanding Pathological Gait

MOMENTS! Example: what if quadriceps is weak?

Whats the external moment on the knee? Flexor or extensor?

Model
What muscles must resist an external knee flexor moment?

Resisting a moment
The knee extensors must resist an external knee flexion moment What are the knee extensors? What if they are weak?

Adaptations
What can be done to protect quads?
Reduce flexion moment
How?
Affect moment arm How? Affect vector direction Affect joint center

Adaptations
What can be done to protect quads?
Reduce flexion moment
Move knee center back Move GRF direction forward

Anterior Trunk Lean

Other solutions
Knee hyperextension Dynamic Limb Retraction Hand on thigh

Applications of Net Moments

Related to walking Frontal Plane

 Identify:
Direction of moment about right hip when left leg is off the ground
Muscles that must fire to resist that moment

Question
What happens if right abductors are weak? Trendelenberg Sign

What could a cane do at the hip?

Construct a free body diagram that demonstrates how the use of a cane can alleviate compression on the hip

Weight on one leg large moment resisted by abductors

Summary
Walking and running are complex cyclic motions that involve interaction of both limbs and large sagittal plane motion Ground reaction forces and joint moments improve understanding of normal and pathological gait