As we are about to enter National Walking Month (1st – 31st of May), we are going to have a look at all things walking!
What Is Gait?
Gait is a person’s pattern of walking. While you may think that we all walk the same, like fingerprints, each of us have an individual way of walking. Coordinating our gait uses a huge number of muscles, nerves and systems in our body that have to work together in a rhythm.
Gait requires mobility and coordination – so it is a great way to examine how your body is working, your function. To examine your gait, there are lots of thing we look at that can tell us about different things in your body, including muscular, neurological and skeletal problems. Gait alone cannot diagnose problems but is used alongside other things that can give a bigger picture about your health.
Did you know that recent studies have shown a link between your gait and your health? Slower speeds have been linked to risk of mortality in older people.
What Happens When You Walk?
- The normal forward step consists of two phases; stance phase and swing phase
- Stance phase is when one foot and leg are taking the most of your body weight, it makes up 60% of your gait
- Swing phase is when the foot is not touching the ground and takes non of the body weight
- The double support phase is in between these two phases, where both feet are in contact with the floor at the same time
- A complete gait cycle is completed when both sides of your body have been though both phases
The Foot In Motion
There are key areas to focus on during the gait cycle. They involve understanding key movements of the foot in motion.
- Pronation is where the foot rotates towards the midline (the inside of the foot drops down and the outside lifts up).
- Supination is where the foot rotates away from the midline (the outside of the foot drops down and the inside lifts up).
- The tripod of the foot – the heel, 1st and 5th ‘knucle’ of the foot all in contact with the floor at the same time.
Understanding these terms is key to understanding the gait cycle, when focusing on one foot at a time:
- The strike phase – this is where your heel ‘strikes’ the floor
- The suspension phase – the tripod of the foot in contact and slight pronation
- The transition phase – the tripod of the foot in contact and slight supination
- The shift phase – the heel comes off the ground, the foot is in slight supination and the weight is in the mid foot
- The propulsion phase – the heel comes off the ground, the foot is in slight supination and the weight is in the toes (mainly the big toe, often called ‘toe off’)
- The swing phase – the foot is ‘swinging’ forward
Gait Analysis
When your gait is assessed, the different phases and components are looked at to determine how your body is functioning. Components that are looked at include: Speed of gait, a gait cycle, each step (the movement of a single leg), strides (the movement of each leg one after another), step time (the time between one foot touching the ground and the other touching the ground), step width (the space between your feet as they hit the floor in your gait cycle) and foot pressure (a force plate can be used to make sure that force is distributed efficiently through the foot).
What does a bad gait look like?
Gait disorders are when there are altered gait patterns due to deformities, weakness or impairment. Disorders in gait are more common as you get older but can affect everyone, including children. In the elderly, gait disorders can be a precursor of falls and potential injury.
- Antalgic gait – a limp or patterns of walking to avoid pain on weight bearing structures
- Issues with the big toe – as the big toe is so vital in the last stage of “propulsion / toe-off” of the foot, when the big toe is stiff and lacks movement it can result in each step being a lot less propulsive and less efficient
- Weakened muscles in the hip – weak muscle such as glute medius can result in incorrect movements of the hip during gait, such as the pelvis dropping down when weight is taken off the foot to swing forward. Ideally you want a strong pelvis to stay steady through the gait cycle
- Knee issues – if knee issues occur, such as limited movement in bending the knee, the leg may be swung out around the body to avoid pain with knee bending. With issues like this, the pelvis and rest of the body has to compensate to accommodate this movement
There are many professions that can help you by working with your biomechanics to help get to the root of your problem and to improving your gait or gait related pain!
