Clinical Assessment of Walking and Running Gait

Nothing is more everyday than walking. Using two legs to get from here to there is as mundane as filing a timesheet or eating cereal for breakfast, yet the mechanics of such movement are anything but simple.

There are hundreds of bones in the body and countless more muscles, joints, and ligaments, all working in a vast and complicated array to keep our bodies moving. When something goes wrong – even in the tiniest area – it can compromise the whole machine. Unfortunately, it is often hard to tell exactly what is happening, which is where clinical assessment of walking and running gait comes in.

Whether you're a clinician or lab researcher, coach or athletic director, physical or occupational therapist, biomechanist, or anyone else, one goal remains the same: figure out what went amiss. The first step is a clinical gait assessment, which we are here to discuss today.

Gait: Why Do We Care?

Gait, the pattern in which we walk and move, is a simple enough concept until something goes wrong. When it does, the injury or medical condition underlying a change in gait may go undetected for prolonged periods. Even if the symptom is obvious, the true problem may not be.

That's why clinical gait assessment is such an important part of a clinician's job, whether their focus is rehabbing older adults or pinpointing the role of biomechanics in sports performance.

Abnormal gait can take a vast range of forms, such as a slight limp or drag, pronating or supinating, taking higher-than-needed steps, or feeling off balance. Such abnormalities may be inherited, learned in childhood for compensatory reasons, or developed in response to a more recent injury or development. These are all questions the clinician must answer if they are to provide a useful assessment of walking and running gait for the patient or athlete.

What Is Clinical Gait Assessment?

Clinical gait assessment is a process in which the clinician performs tests and rules out potential problems until they hone in on what is causing the issue. They may look at factors such as step and stride length, cadence and cycle time, joint angles and foot placement, and more. However, although many gait assessments begin with observation, the human eye is typically too slow and unrefined to catch many of the issues that impact people today.

As such, clinicians quickly progress through visual inspection and move to using data captured by machinery and sensors. These methods include technologies such as:

• Video cameras capable of capturing video in slow motion and at normal speed;
• Skin-based sensors that capture muscle movements in great detail;
• Wearable, in-shoe devices (such as clinical insoles) that sense pressure;
• Platform-based sensors, such as walkway and stance pads;
• Infrared markers that show intricate bodily movements invisible to cameras or the naked eye; and
• Motion capture systems.

Physicians and therapists combine this information with their visual inspection and health history to form a much more rounded picture of what is happening in the affected individual's feet, ankles, legs, hips, and spine.

Moreover, this information can be used in multiple ways. In a clinical setting, it is usually employed to help people recover from injury or deal with debilitating conditions, such as degenerative disorders or neurological issues. However, gait analysis can also be used prophylactically to prevent injury in athletes or laypeople with family histories of conditions.

Challenges of Running Vs. Walking Gait Assessment

The challenges of running and walking gait assessment are myriad, including the dangers of an incorrect or difficult diagnosis, the development of ineffective treatments (leading to client or patient dissatisfaction), unreliable equipment, and product design deficiencies. Many clinicians also find it difficult to properly educate patients and caregivers on the proper use of assistive devices or inserts, which reduces their effectiveness.

As such, the goal of any clinician is severalfold, including:

• Accurately diagnosing the problem to address it quickly and avoid rework.
• Designing treatment plans that will address it and prevent recurrence of injury (or other injury) later.
• Offloading pressure using corrective routines or orthotic devices.
• Designing and tailoring devices for individual use.
• Ability to do so in an efficient way within a clinical visit.

Meeting these goals means using sensor-based equipment that can give you insight into even the smallest abnormalities or areas of high pressure. You need a comprehensive gait analysis system.

What Does a Complete Gait Analysis System Look Like?

A complete gait analysis system has a few basic characteristics. While many systems have some of these, most do not. This leads to wanting data and missing critical information that will help with research, clinical diagnoses, treatment protocols, and orthotic applications.

What characteristics, you wonder? They include:

Real-Time Feedback

When performing clinical gait assessments, it is critical to have feedback in the moment. A complete gait assessment system will combine hardware (insoles, walkways, stance pads, etc.) with immediate processing of raw data. This will provide you with 3D models, images, and data streams that allow you to conclude right away during your session.

Rugged Hardware

Bodies are strong and heavy. Delicate components will quickly break down under the repeated pressure of many feet. Choose systems that will work repeatedly without additional calibration or replacement parts.

Powerful Software

No hardware is complete without the software to turn sensor-based data into meaningful numbers. Good software will come out of the box, already synchronized with hardware, and ready to use with minimal setup.

Wireless Transmission

Too many systems include wires running between hardware and software. While they might provide some meaningful data, the wires hamper natural gait, causing your clients to change how they move and corrupt your data. You can address this issue with software and hardware that talk wirelessly.

Repeatability and Reliability

A system that requires constant recalibration to maintain fidelity will not work. It will slow down your process and cast doubt on your results. Which, no, thank you. It is time for something better.

Gold-Standard Walk and Run Assessment with XSENSOR

Don't wait any longer to learn about XSENSOR's Clinical Gait Analysis Insoles, the answer to all your difficulties in the office or the field.

Get in touch to find out more today!