Expected motions during normal gait

Question 1

At heel strike, what should the hip be doing?

Answer 1

Should be flexed and internally rotating

Question 2

At heel strike, what should the knee/lower limb be doing?

Answer 2

Fully extended, lower limb beginning to internally rotate

Question 3

At heel strike, what should the ankle be doing?

Answer 3

Dorsiflexed, but slowly plantar flexing

Question 4

At heel strike, what should the STJ and midfoot be doing?

Answer 4

STJ will be supinated, while the midfoot will be pronated about the oblique axis and supinated about the longitudinal axis

Question 5

At loading response, what should the hip be doing?

Answer 5

In a flexed position, but extending

Question 6

At loading response, what should the knee/lower leg be doing?

Answer 6

Knee should be flexing, and the tibia should be internally rotating

Question 7

At loading response, what should the ankle be doing?

Answer 7

Plantarflexing

Question 8

At loading response, what should the STJ be doing?

Answer 8

Pronating

Question 9

At midstance, what should the hip be doing?

Answer 9

Externally rotating and extending

Question 10

At midstance, what should the knee/lower leg be doing?

Answer 10

Knee is flexed but extending, and the lower leg is externally rotating

Question 11

At midstance, what should the ankle be doing?

Answer 11

Passively dorsiflexing as the stance leg shifts over the foot

Question 12

At midstance, what should the STJ be doing?

Answer 12

Pronated through a majority of this phase, but will begin supinating towards neutral towards the end. This converts the foot to a rigid lever for toe off, a process called resupination

Question 13

At midstance, what should the midfoot be doing?

Answer 13

The calcaneocuboid joint is locking to stabilize the rearfoot on the forefoot to provide a rigid lever for toe off

Question 14

At heel lift, what should the hip be doing?

Answer 14

Extending and externally rotating

Question 15

At heel lift, what should the knee/lower leg be doing?

Answer 15

Flexing to allow for ground clearance in next phase

Question 16

At heel lift, what should the ankle be doing?

Answer 16

Plantarflexing

Question 17

At heel lift, what should the STJ be doing?

Answer 17

In a neutral position, moving towards re-supination to prepare for toe off

Question 18

At heel lift, what should the midfoot be doing?

Answer 18

Calcaneocuboid joint is locked

Question 19

At heel lift, what should the plantar fascia be doing?

Answer 19

Drawn tight to create the windlass effect

Question 20

At toe off, what should the hip be doing?

Answer 20

Extending and preparing to flex through swing phase

Question 21

At toe off, what should the knee/lower leg be doing?

Answer 21

Knee is flexing and the lower leg is externally rotating

Question 22

At toe off, what should the ankle be doing?

Answer 22

In a plantarflexed position, but dorsiflexing for ground clearance and to prepare for heel lift

Question 23

At toe off, what should the midtarsal joint be doing?

Answer 23

The oblique midtarsal joint should be supinated

Question 24

At toe off, what should the first ray be doing?

Answer 24

Plantarflexing to maintain ground contact

Question 25

During swing phase, what should the hip be doing?

Answer 25

Hip on swing side rises slightly to help with ground clearance. Pelvis will also rotate forward on the side of the swing leg

Question 26

During swing phase, what should the knee be doing?

Answer 26

Flexing for ground clearance

Question 27

During swing phase, what should the ankle be doing?

Answer 27

Dorsiflexing for ground cleareance

Question 28

During swing phase, what should the STJ and midtarsal joints be doing?

Answer 28

Both are pronated at midswing. Just before HS the STJ supinates and the midtarsal joint inverts about its longitudinal axis