L14 - Gait

Question 1

THE GAIT CYCLE

i) what signals the start of the cycle?
ii) what are the two phases? what % of the cycle does each account for?
iii) what is happening in relation to the foot in each phase?

Answer 1

i) first contact of foot with the ground
ii) stances phase - 60% and swing phase 40%
iii) in stance phase the foot is on the ground and in swing phase it is in the air

Question 2

DIVISIONS OF THE GAIT CYCLE

i) what is one gait cycle equal to?
ii) name two tasks that happen in the stance phase?
iii) what tasks happens in the swing phase? what does this allow?
iv) what position is the hip, knee, ankle in in heel strike?

Answer 2

i) one gait cycle = one stride
ii) weight acceptance and single limb support (maint body upright)
iii) swing phase = limb advancement - allows distance to be covered
iv) hip flexion, knee extension, ankle dorsiflexion in heel strike

Question 3

JOINT POSITIONS IN GAIT CYCLE

i) what task is being undertaken in mid stance? which two joints are neutral here?
ii) what does swing allow? what does this require the person to be able to do?
iii) name a condition where swing may be impacted

Answer 3

i) single limb support
- neural hip and ankle

ii) swing allows distance to be gained
- req person to be able to lift leg off ground

iii) peroneal palsy > cant dorsiflex so exaggerated movement at hip/knee to lift whole leg off the ground

Question 4

STEP LENGTH

i) which movement of each foot is step length calculated between?
ii) what is stride length?
iii) what is step width?
iv) what is the foot angle?

Answer 4

i) one foot in heel strike to when the next foot is in heel strike
ii) stride length is start of heel strike of one foot to end of heel strike of next foot
iii) step width is gap between left and right foot when walking
iv) foot angle is how far is the foot deviated from the midline

Question 5

BASE OF SUPPORT/CENTRE OF MASS

i) what is base of support defined as?
ii) what is centre of mass defined as?
iii) what may cause a fall in relation to BOS and COM?
iv) what is balance?

Answer 5

i) BOS - area within an outline of all ground contact points
ii) COM - average position of all the parts of the system, weighted according to their masses
iii) BOS gets smaller when turning and COM may fall outside of it > fall
iv) balance is when COM is within BOS

Question 6

WALKING SPEED/ABILITY TO TURN

i) what can walking speed affect?
ii) what effect can reducing walking speed have on gait stability?
iii) how many steps does it take for healthy adults to turn? how many seconds?
iv) name two places where there needs to be terrain adjustment

Answer 6

i) can affect how a person walks
ii) reducing speed can improve gait stability
iii) less than 3 steps or less than 3.1 seconds
iv) stairs and uneven surfaces

Question 7

COMPLETE PICTURE OF GAIT ANALYSIS

i) name three things that should be asked about the patients ability to walk
ii) name a limitation of just watching the patient walk in the clinic

Answer 7

i) what is their daily walking amount like? do they take part in any activities eg sports? do they walk on different surfaces?
ii) in the clinic it is only straight line walking - not always sufficient for assessment

Question 8

DISRUPTION IN GAIT

i) name three MSK conditions that can disrupt gait
ii) name three neurological conditions
iii) name three other conditions

Answer 8

i) MSK - arthritis, tendinopathy, ligament injury
ii) parkinsons, cerebral palsy, peripheral neuropathy
iii) pain, supply of energy, behavioural issues eg carrying a heavy bag for a long time and reduced swing on that side when not carrying bag