Gait: Walking

Biomechanical analysis of walking gait, including stride patterns, ground contact phases, and joint kinematics.

Overview

Walking gait analysis evaluates the biomechanics of walking motion, including stride patterns, ground contact phases, and joint kinematics during the walking cycle.

Dimensions

Required Inputs for processing:

• surface: the type of ground on which the person walks [‘treadmill’, ‘other’]

Instructions

Variables

Output Variables for gait analysis:

Events

Evemt	Description	Column Name
Right Foot Strike	when the right foot initially contacts the ground	-
Right Foot Off	when the right foot leaves the ground	-
Left Foot Strike	when the left foot contacts the ground	-
Left Foot Off	when the left toe leaves the ground	-

Phases and Stages of Gait Walking

Phase	Start	End	Description
Stance	Foot Strike	Foot Off	the period between foot strike and foot off, when the foot is in contact with the ground
Swing	Foot Off	Foot Strike	the period between foot off and foot strike, when the foot is not in contact with the ground
Leading Double Support	Foot Strike	Opposite Foot Off	when both feet are in contact with the ground and the step side is in early stance (just after foot strike)
Single Limb Support	Opposite Foot Off	Opposite Foot Strike	when only one foot is in contact with the ground
Trailing Double Support	Opposite Foot Strike	Foot Off	when both feet are in contact with the ground and the step side is in late stance (just before foot off)

Discrete Metrics

Metric	Data Type	Units	Description
Percent Gait Cycle Left	Float	%	Relative percent of the gait cycle (left foot strike to left foot strike)
Percent Gait Cycle Right	Float	%	Relative percent of the gait cycle (right foot strike to right foot strike)
Side	String	N/A	Side of the Gait Cycle [‘left’, ‘right’]
Side Gait Cycle Number	Int	number	Gait cycle index for the trial. Left and Right gait cycles are counted separately
Opposite Foot Off Percent	Float	%	Relative % of the gait cycle at which the opposite foot off event occurs
Opposite Foot Strike Percent	Float	%	Relative % of the gait cycle at which the opposite foot strike event occurs
Stance Percent	Float	%	Relative % duration of the gait cycle for stance phase
Swing Percent	Float	%	Relative % duration of the gait cycle for swing phase
Stride Duration	Float	seconds	Time between same-side heel strikes
Walking Speed	Float	m/s	Average walking speed for the gait cycle
Stride Length	Float	meters	Distance between same foot heel strikes
Step Width	Float	meters	Side-side distance between feet
Step Length	Float	meters	Distance travelled between contralateral heel strikes
Ankle Push Off Range of Motion	Float	Degrees	The functional amount of ankle extension used during push off, range of motion from peak flexion during stance to extension angle at foot off event. Does not consider follow through extension when the foot is no longer in contact with the ground.
Knee Absorption Range of Motion	Float	Degrees	The functional amount of knee flexion used during weight acceptance, range of motion from foot strike event until peak flexion angle in the first half of stance phase.
Foot Progression Angle	Float	Degrees	The outward rotation of the foot (transverse plane) relative to the direction of walking.

Notes

• Kinematic data typically captured at 120Hz for Walking Analysis