Scribd
Upload
54 views29 pages

An Introuction

Gait refers to human locomotion produced by coordinated movements of the body's segments. A gait cycle involves one foot contacting the ground until the same foot contacts it again, propelling the body's center of gravity forward. Each cycle consists of a stance phase where the foot is on the ground and a swing phase where it is off the ground. Gait is characterized by temporal variables like stride time, cadence, and stance time as well as distance variables including stride length, step length, and step width. Proper gait involves coordinated movement of the limbs, trunk, and pelvis.

Uploaded by

anjali chaudhary
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
54 views29 pages

An Introuction

Gait refers to human locomotion produced by coordinated movements of the body's segments. A gait cycle involves one foot contacting the ground until the same foot contacts it again, propelling the body's center of gravity forward. Each cycle consists of a stance phase where the foot is on the ground and a swing phase where it is off the ground. Gait is characterized by temporal variables like stride time, cadence, and stance time as well as distance variables including stride length, step length, and step width. Proper gait involves coordinated movement of the limbs, trunk, and pelvis.

Uploaded by

anjali chaudhary
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 29

GAIT

• AN INTROUCTION
DEFINITION
It is defined as a translatory progression of the
body as a whole produce by coordinated,
rotatory movements of body segments.
Normal gait – It is a rhythmic & characterized
by alternating propulsive & retropulsive
motions of the lower extremities
Gait cycle
• A gait cycle is the time period or sequence of
events or movements during locomotion in
which one foot contacts the ground to when
that same foot again contacts the ground, and
involves propulsion of the centre of gravity in
the direction of motion. A single gait cycle is
also known as a stride.
Phases of gait
• Stance phase
• Swing phase
.

• Each gait cycle or stride has two phases:


• Stance Phase, the phase during which the foot
remains in contact with the ground, and the
• Swing Phase, the phase during which the foot
is not in contact with the ground
Detailed classification of gait
Stance phase
• Initial Contact (Heel Strike): In initial contact, the
heel is the first bone of the reference foot to
touch the ground.
• Loading Response (Foot Flat): In loading response
phase, the weight is transferred onto the
referenced leg. It is important for weight-bearing,
shock-absorption and forward progression.
• Mid Stance: It involves alignment and balancing
of body weight on the reference foot.
.
• Terminal Stance: In this phase the heel of
reference foot rises while its toes are still in
contact with the ground.
• Toe Off (Pre Swing): In this phase, the toe of
reference foot rises and swings in air. This is
the beginning of the swing phase of the gait
cycle
Swing phase
• Initial swing
During initial swing, the hip, knee, and ankle are
flexed to begin advancement of the limb forward
and create clearance of the foot over the ground.
• Mid-swing
During mid-swing, limb advancement continues.
• Terminal swing is the final phase of the gait cycle
. During terminal swing, the final advancement of
takes place and the foot is positioned for initial
foot contact to start the next gait cycle.
Variables of gait
• Temporal (time) variables
• Distance (spatial) variables
Temporal variables
1. Stance time
2. Single limb support time
3. Double limb support time
4. Cadence
5. Swing time
6. Stride & step time
7. speed
Stance time
• It is the amount of time that elapses during
stance phase of one extremity in a gait cycle.
Single limb support time
• Amount of time that is spent during the
period when only one extremity is on the
supporting surface of the gait cycle.
Double limb support time
• Amount of time spent with both feet on the
ground during one gait cycle.
• The time of double support may be increased
in elder patients and in those having balance
disorders.
• The time of double support decreases when
speed of walking increases.
Cadence
• It is the no. of steps taken by a person per unit
of time.
• Cadence = no. of steps /time
Swing time
• It is the amount of time that passes during the
swing phase of one extremity in a gait cycle.
Stride time
• It refers to amount of time taken to
accomplish one stride.
• Stride duration & gait cycle duration are
synonymous.
• One stride , for a normal adult , lasts for
approx 1 second.
Step time
• It refers to the amount of time spent during a
single step.
• It’s measurement is usually expressed as
sec/step.
• When weakness or pain in limb is present ,
step duration is decreased in the affected side
& increased on the unaffected side.
Speed of gait
• It may be slow, free or fast.
• Free speed of gait refers to a person’s normal
walking speed.
• Slow & fast speeds of gait refers to speeds
slower or faster than the person’s normal
comfortable walking speed respectively.
Distance variables
• Stride length
• Step length
• Step width / width of walking base
• Degree of toe-out
Stride length
• It is the linear distance from the heel strike of
one reference foot to the heel strike of the
same foot.
Stride length
Step length
• It is the linear distance from the heel strike of
one reference foot to the heel strike of the
opposite foot.
Step length
Step width / width of walking base

• It is defined as the side-to-side distance


between the line of step of the two feet.
Degree of toe-out (DTO)
• It represents the angle of foot formed by each
foot’s line of progression & a line intersecting
the centre of the heel & the second toe.
• The DTO decreases as the speed of walking
increases.

You might also like