Gait Analysis - The Examination of How People Walk

Finding problems in your gait can be the key to identifying the cause of the pain in your feet, ankles, legs, knees, hips, back, or neck. Gait analysis can help determine underlying problems such as:

• Restrictions in motion
• Muscle weakness
• Nerve dysfunction
• Skeletal or joint malalignments
• Complications from diabetes
• Complications from spasticity or contracture (i.e. Cerebral palsy)
• Complications from arthritis (osteo & Rheumatoid)
• Strokes (CVA's)
• Sports injuries
• Previous surgery to the feet and legs i.e. Amputations

What is Gait Analysis?

Gait analysis is a computerised technique to study how well you stand and walk. The manner in which you stand and walk can reveal the source of your muscle, nerve, or skeletal problem. Standing and walking properly involves a chain of complex actions. Your body must put together information from your eyes, ears, sense of balance and nervous system to properly control your muscles so you don't fall.

Computerised gait analysis provides very accurate information about the joint motion that occurs as a patient walks. It also provides some information about muscle activation and muscle forces occurring during gait. With the use of a pressure scanner in the floor, some information can be obtained about the forces produced by the muscles during gait. It compliments the physical exam and careful observation, the traditional tools used by Podiatrists to assess the way a patient walks.

All information obtained during the gait analysis session is compared with data from normal subjects. By studying the deviations from normal patterns, the Podiatrist can devise a treatment plan to improve abnormal muscle or joint function. This treatment plan may include braces, physical therapy, medical therapy, orthotics, muscle strengthening/stretching exercises, and surgery.

What happens During a Gait Analysis Examination?

The examination will take approximately two hours in the collection of data. During the examination the Podiatrist will take a full medical history, record the patient walking with a slow motion digital camera. This allows slow motion and freeze frame analysis of your walk. The podiatrist will also examine the patient's muscle strength and range of movement within their joints.

The gait analysis examination follows after the podiatrist marks critical locations on the legs and trunk of the patient. The patient then stands and walks normally while a digital camera and pressure scanner are used to collect data. From this data we can determine what may be needed to correct the various walking. Once a diagnosis is made, your Podiatrist will explain the treatment options available to you.

Every effort will be made to relieve you immediate discomfort. We encourage patients to ask questions before embarking on a treatment plan. Since most foot, ankle, leg and back pain begins or worsens from standing and walking, gait analysis offers a distinct advantage in diagnosing your problems.

I'm a Diabetic. Is Gait Analysis any Good for me?

Diabetes is often accompanied by poor circulation and a loss of feeling in the toes and feet all of which could result in ulceration and possible infection. As a diabetic, if infection does develop and advances to gangrene in your feet, amputation may be necessary. Gait analysis is used to determine which areas of your feet take the most pressure while you walk.

Knowing where these areas are can help your Podiatrist find preventative treatments for ulcerations and impending infections. Preventing an ulcer from forming or helping an ulcer to heal by properly managing the pressures on the bottom of your feet could significantly improve the chances of saving a limb from amputation.

I'm a Practitioner. What Benefits Does Gait Analysis Have for my Patients?

Sending patients along for gait analysis gives you these advantages: -

• Full report and recommendations of multi-disciplinary team of experts
• Highly accurate measurement to aid informed decision making, enabling cost effective treatment planning for patients with ambulatory problems.
• E-mail gait analysis video and reports to practitioners.
• The nature of the system enables repeated future analysis, offering accurate information on the progress of the patient and relative success of the treatment.
• Gait analysis offers a unique perspective because it is done while a patient stands and walks. This may eliminate the need for invasive procedures and costly clinical investigations such as MRI, X-rays etc.