Chapter 4

Lecture 2
Dynamics of Human Gait
Gait analysis
• Human gait refers to locomotion achieved through the
movement of human limb.
• Human gait is defined as bipedal, biphasic forward
propulsion of center of gravity of the human body, in
which there alternate sinuous movements of different
segments of the body with least expenditure of
energy.
Gait analysis terminologies
Gait Cycle:
The time interval between two successive occurrences
of one of the repetitive events of walking.
There are two phases in a gait cycle
1. Stance phase
2. Swing phase
The following terms are used to identify major events
during the gait cycle.
Initial contact
Opposite toe off
Heel rise
Opposite initial contact
Toe off
Feet adjustment
Tibia vertical
Stance phase
Subdivided into
1. Loading response
2. Mid-stance
3. Terminal Stance
4. Pre-swing
Swing phase
Lasts form toe off to the next initial contact.
It is subdivided into to:
1. Initial swing
2. Mid-swing
3. Terminal swing
Figure: Timing of single and double support during a little more than one gait cycle, starting with right
initial contact.
Stance phase lasts about 60% of the cycle.
Swing phase lasts about 40% of the cycle.
10% double support.
As the speed increases
 Swing phase becomes proportionately longer
 Stance phase and double support becomes shorter

Double support is absent during running.

Gait cycle of running (Reading assignment)
Foot placement
Cadence, cycle time and speed
Cadence is the number of steps in a given time. (steps
per minute)
It is a measure of half cycle.

Cycle time (s)=120/cadence (steps/min)

Speed (m/s)= stride length (m) x cadence (steps/min)/120
Speed (m/s)= stride length (m) / cycle time (sec)
Anatomical positions in three planes
Movements about the hip joint (above)
and knee joint (below).
Movements of the ankle, toes, hind foot
and forefoot.
Figure: Position of the right leg in the sagittal plane at 40 ms intervals during a
single gait cycle.
Sagittal plane joint angles(degrees) during a
single gait cycle of right hip (flexion positive),
knee (flexion positive) and ankle (dorsiflexion
positive).
IC = initial contact;
OT =opposite toe off;
HR = heel rise;
OI =opposite initial contact;
TO = toe off;
FA= feet adjacent;
TV = tibia vertical.
Sagittal plane internal joint moments (newton-
meters per kilogram body mass) during a
single gait cycle of right hip (extensor moment
positive), knee (extensor moment positive)
and ankle (plantar flexor moment positive).
Sagittal plane joint powers (watts per
kilogram body mass) during a single gait
cycle of right hip, knee and ankle. Power
generation is positive, absorption is
negative. See text for meaning of H1,
H2, etc.
Figure: ‘Butterfly diagram’ representation of
ground reaction force vector at 10 ms
intervals. Progression is from left to right.
Typical activity of major muscle groups during
the gait cycle. The timings of the events of
the gait cycle are typical and not derived from
a single subject.
The Gait Cycles in detail
Initial contact
Figure:
Initial contact: position of right leg (gray), left leg (blue)
and ground reaction force vector during the heels trike
transient. This illustration also applies to terminal foot
contact.
 Initial contact is the beginning of the loading response, which
is the first period of the stance phase.
 Initial contact is frequently called ‘heel strike’,
 The maximum flexion of the hip (generally around 30°) is
reached around the middle of the swing phase,
 The knee extends rapidly at the end of the swing phase,
becoming more or less straight just before initial contact and
then starting to flex again.
 The ankle is generally close to its neutral position in
plantarflexion/dorsiflexion at the time of initial contact.
Tibialis anterior is active throughout swing and in
early stance,
It maintains dorsiflexion during the swing phase
maintains movement into plantarflexion which occurs
following initial contact.
Moments and powers:
At the time of initial contact, there is an internal
extensor moment at the hip produced by contraction
of the hip extensors (gluteus maximus and the
hamstrings),
As the hip joint moves in the direction of extension,
these muscles contract concentrically and generate
power (H1)
The knee shows an internal flexor moment, due to
contraction of the hamstrings.
 As the knee starts to flex concentric contraction of the
hamstrings, as well as the release of energy stored in the
ligaments of the extended knee, results in a short-lived power
generation
 Little moment or power exchange occurs at the ankle until
just after initial contact.
 The ‘heelstrike’ involves an absorption of energy by the elastic
tissues of the heel and by compliant materials in footwear,
very little of which could be recovered later in the stance
phase.
Loading response • The loading response is the double support
period between initial contact and opposite toe
off.
• During this period, the foot is lowered to the
ground by plantarflexion of the ankle.
• The ground reaction force increases rapidly in
magnitude, its direction being upwards and
backwards.
• The ground reaction force increases rapidly in
magnitude, its direction being upwards and
backwards.
• loading response typically occupying the first
10–12% of the cycle.
• It represents 2% of the cycle
the hip begins to extend , through concentric
contraction of the hip extensors, gluteus maximus and
the hamstrings
 the knee flexes during loading response by eccentric
contraction of the quadriceps
involves plantar flexion at the ankle by eccentric
contraction of the tibialis anterior muscle.
Powers and moments during loading response
 The hip shows an internal extensor moment with power
generation during the loading response.
 the knee shows an internal flexor moment with
power generation.
 At the ankle, the posterior placement of the force vector
produces an external plantar flexor moment.
 this is resisted by an internal dorsiflexor moment (produced
by tibialis anterior )
 Tibialis anterior contracts eccentrically, absorbing power and
permitting the foot to be lowered gently to the ground.
Opposite toe off
• Opposite toe off, also known as ‘opposite foot off ’, is
the end of the double support period known as loading
response and the beginning of mid-stance, the first
period of single support.

Figure: Opposite toe off: position of right leg (gray), left leg
(blue) and ground reaction force vector.
The hip flexion angle is around 25° at time of opposite
toe off .
The hip continues to extend, by concentric contraction
of the gluteus maximus and hamstrings.
At opposite toe off, the knee is continuing to flex,
reaching the peak of ‘stance phase knee flexion’ early
in mid-stance
The magnitude of the stance phase knee flexion is
very sensitive to walking speed;
and it disappears in a very slow walk.
Quadriceps contraction (eccentric then concentric)
permits the knee to act like a spring,
As soon as the foot is flat on the ground, around
opposite toe off, the direction of ankle motion
changes from plantarflexion to dorsiflexion,
Moments and powers
At opposite toe off, the hip continues to have an
internal extensor moment with power generation
At the knee, the force vector lies behind the joint,
producing an external flexor moment.
External flexor moment is opposed by an internal
extensor moment , which is generated by the
quadriceps muscles
These contract eccentrically, absorbing power

The line of the ground reaction force begins to move
forwards along the foot .
This causes the internal dorsiflexor moment at the
ankle to become smaller and then to reverse, to
become a plantar flexor moment
 Mid-stance
• Mid-stance is the period of the gait cycle
between opposite toe off and heel rise.
• represents 18% of the cycle.

Mid-stance: position of right leg (gray), left leg

(blue) and ground reaction force vector 100 ms
after opposite toe off.
During the mid-stance period, the hip continues to
extend, moving from a flexed attitude to an extended
one.
Concentric contraction of gluteus maximus and the
hamstrings ceases during this period. (Why?)
Throughout mid-stance and terminal stance,
significant muscle activity about the hip joint takes
place in the frontal plane.
The peak generally occurs at between 15% and 20%
of the gait cycle.
Its magnitude is variable, both from one individual to
another and with the speed of walking, but it is
commonly between 10° and 20°.
The ‘mid-stance rocker’, also called the ‘second rocker’
or ‘ankle rocker’, occurs during mid-stance and
terminal stance.
It is characterized by forward rotation of the tibia
about the ankle joint,
the ankle angle changing from plantarflexion to
dorsiflexion, with the triceps surae contracting
eccentrically
Moments and powers
 During mid-stance, the internal extensor moment at the hip, generated
by contraction of the extensor muscles, declines and disappears, to be
replaced by a moment in the opposite direction.
 At the knee, the force vector remains behind the joint, producing an
external flexor moment, opposed by an internal extensor moment due
to quadriceps contraction.
 As the direction of knee motion changes from flexion to extension power
generation takes place.
 The ankle shows an increasing internal plantar flexor moment
throughout mid-stance and into terminal stance , as the force vector
moves into the forefoot.
 Reading assignment
• Heel rise
• Opposite initial contact
• Toe off and
• Feet adjuste
End