The stride analysis variables most commonly used to describe a gait pattern:
- Step length is the distance between the point of initial contact of one foot and the point of initial contact of the opposite foot. In normal gait, right and left step lengths are similar.
- Stride length is the distance between successive points of initial contact of the same foot. Right and left stride lengths are normally equal.
- Cadence or walking rate is calculated in steps per minute.
- Velocity, the product of cadence and step length, is expressed in units of distance per time. "Free speed" refers to the individual's comfortable walking speed. Since individuals walk at different speeds depending on the situation, normal velocity values are somewhat arbitrary.
- Walking base is the sum of the perpendicular distances from the points of initial contact of the right and left feet to the line of forward progression.
- Foot angle or toe out describes an angle between the line of progression and a line drawn between the midpoints of the calcaneus and the second metatarsal head.
TABLE - MEAN STRIDE ANALYSIS VARIABLES
|Step Length (cm) ||79||66
|Stride Length (cm) ||158||132
|Cadence (steps/min) ||117 (60-132)|| 117 (60 132
|Velocity (m/sec) ||1.54||1.31
|Walking Base (cm) ||8.1||7.1
|Foot angle || 7|| 6
Values for men adapted from Murray, Drought, & Kory (1964).
Values for women from Murray, Kory, & Sepic, (1970).
Stride analysis data are available for children in work by Sutherland, Olshen, Biden, & Wyatt (1988).
Stride analysis has an advantage in that its techniques are standardized and reasonably reliable (Stuberg, Colerick, & Blanke, 1988). Improvements in stride analysis also correlate with improvements in a person's functional ambulation (Holden, Gill, & Magliozzi, 1984).
Holden, M.K., Gill, K.M., & Magliozzi, M.R. (1984). Clinical gait assessment in the neurologically impaired: Reliability and meaningfulness. Physical Therapy, 64, 35-40. A good introduction to issues of reliability in our attempts to describe gait deficits objectively.
Murray, M.P., Drought, A.B., & Kory, R.C. (1964). Walking patterns of normal men. Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, 46A, 335-360.
Murray, M.P., Kory, R.C., & Sepic, S.B. (1970). Walking patterns of normal women. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilation, 51, 637-650.
Stuberg, W.A., Colerick, V.L., & Blanke, D.J. (1988). Comparison of clinical gait analysis method using videography and temporal-distance measures with 16-mm cinematography. Physical Therapy, 68,1221-1225.