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GAIT CYCLEPREPARED BY,

DR. MADIHA ANEES (PT)LECTURER RMI-CRS

MS-PT *, T-DPT, BS-PT

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VARIABLES OF GAIT

There are two basic variables which provide a basic description of human gait.• Time/ temporal variable • distance variables.Provide essential quantitative information about gait

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FACTORS AFFECTING VARIABLES

• Age,• Gender, • Height, • Size & shape of bony components, • Distribution of mass in body

segments,

• Joint mobility, • Muscle strength,• Type of clothing & footwear, • Habit,• Psychological status.

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VARIABLES

• Temporal variable –• Stance time• Single-limb & double-support time,• Swing time,• Stride and step time, • Cadence • Speed

• Distance variable – • Stride length, • Step length and width• Degree of toe-out

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• Stance time:• It is the amount of time that elapses during the stance phase of one extremity in

a gait cycle.• Single-support time:

• It is the amount of time that elapses during the period when only one extremity is on the supporting surface in a gait cycle.

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• Double-support time: • It is the amount of time spent with both feet on the ground during one gait cycle.• The % of time spent increased in elderly persons and in those with balance

disorders. • The percentage of time spent decreases as the speed of walking increases.

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• Stride length: • It is the linear distance from the heel strike of one lower

limb to the next heel strike of the same limb.

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• Step length: • it is the linear distance from the heel strike of one lower

limb to the next heel strike of opposite limb.

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• Stride duration: • It refers to amount of time taken to accomplish one stride.• Stride duration and gait cycle duration are synonymous. • One stride, for a normal adult, lasts approx 1 sec

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• Step duration:• It refers to the amount of time spent during a single step. • Measurement usually is expressed as sec/step. • When weakness or pain in limb, step duration may be decreased on the affected

side and increased on the unaffected side.

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• Cadence: • It is the no of steps taken by a person per unit of time. • It is measured as the no of steps / sec or per minute.

Cadence = number of steps / time

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• As one walks with increased cadence the duration of the double limb support decreases.

• When the cadence of walking approaches 180 steps per minute, the period of double support disappears, and walking is transferred into running.

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• Walking velocity:• It is the rate of linear forward motion of the body, which

can be measured in meters or cm/second, meters/minute, or miles/hour.

Walking velocity (meters/sec)=distance walked (meters)/time (sec)

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• Speed of gait:• It is referred to as slow, free, and fast.

• Free speed of gait refers to a person’s normal walking speed• Slow & fast speeds of gait refer to speeds slower or faster than the person’s normal

comfortable walking speed, designated in a variety of ways.

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• A fast speed of gait usually accompanied by increase cadence, stride length and decrease angle of toe out.

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• Step width or width of the walking base:• It is the measure of linear distance

between the midpoint of the heel of one foot and the same point on the other foot

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STEP WIDTH OR WIDTH OF THE WALKING BASE:

• Increase in the width of the walking base increase stability and the amount of side to side motion needed to bring the COG over the BOS during single limb support.

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• In children, the COG is higher than the adult and a wide base of support is necessary for balance.

• Normally, the mean width of the base of support falls within a range of 1 to 5 inches.

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• Degree of toe-out (DTO):• It represents the angle of foot formed by each foot’s line of

progression and a line intersecting the centre of the heel and the second toe. • The angle for men is about 70 from the line of progression of each

foot at free speed walking.• The dto decreases as the speed of walking increases in normal

men.

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