Gait analysis

Definition & Overview

Gait analysis is the study of human motion used in assessing and treating different conditions
that impair the person’s ability to walk properly. It is also offered in specialized sports clinics
to help athletes run and move efficiently and pain-free.

There are a number of factors that can affect gait pattern including intrinsic factors like
weight, height, sex, and age as well as extrinsic factors such as footwear, clothing, and terrain.
Other factors considered are emotions, personality, body proportion, and pathological factors
such as neurological diseases and trauma.

During gait analysis, the motions of the ankles, knees, and hips are observed and quantified
by various instruments to obtain a comprehensive understanding of any underlying conditions
that affect an individual’s ability to walk properly. Physiological processes are also measured.
This procedure is performed in gait laboratories where several specialized cameras and
sensors are installed to facilitate data gathering.

Recommendation

Gait analysis is recommended for:

• Patients with cerebral palsy and who suffered a stroke. Gait analyses are used to better
understand the underlying conditions that lead to changes in the patient's gait pattern.
It is also useful in assessing the efficacy of treatments these patients have received in
the past. Once improvement is detected, physicians are also able to determine what
type of physical therapy would work best for individual patients.

• Elderly patients who experienced fall accidents. A gait analysis is used to determine
the extent of damage as well as select the appropriate rehabilitation program for the
patient. Gait analysis can also help detect underlying gait conditions that may not be
detected by casual observation. An example would be difficulty walking in straight
line, which may be indicative of cerebellar disease.

• Patients who undergo total hip arthroplasty and total knee replacement - Gait analysis
helps patients to understand their movement challenges and provides crucial data
where an optimal program to restore near-normal locomotion can be based on.

• Athletes - Gait analysis helps athletes improve their performance and optimize
movements.

Procedure

Gait analysis is typically comprised of several steps including a physical exam, video
recording of gait, and a motion analysis. Patients are asked to wear loose clothing and if their
condition requires, they are encouraged to bring any walking aid such as canes or braces. The
procedure is usually conducted with the presence of one or more physical therapists,
physicians, and a technician or engineer manning the instruments. During the procedure, the
patients will be asked to:

• Perform several motions and movements to assess their range of motion, muscle
spasticity, strength, and alignment

• Answer a set of questions, such as if they are experiencing pain or discomfort when
performing certain movements

• Walk on a platform or treadmill with electrode sensors attached to different parts of

their body, especially the ankles, hip, pelvis, and knees, while being recorded at
different angles

• Wear a mask that measures oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide release. Infrared
cameras that are connected to computers that collect and analyse data are also used.
Muscle activity is also recorded using electromyography.

• Walk on special flooring to assess plantar pressure.

The whole procedure usually takes several hours to complete, depending on the patient's
capability and ease of performing the steps.

Benefits

This procedure is also helpful for those suffering from sciatic nerve injury, myelopathy, and
other muscle diseases, bone disorders, and those whose ability to walk is impaired by injury
or trauma. Amputees are also advised to undergo gait analysis to determine pathological or
abnormal gait using prostheses as this can provide insights on how to modify their movements
to improve their locomotion.

Gait analysis is a relatively simple procedure offering valuable benefits for patients and useful
information for their physical therapists. It is pain-free and does not involve any invasive
procedures. Results, which are typically released after several weeks, are used to design
physical therapy programs to address specific conditions discovered during the analysis. The
results are also used to determine if a patient should continue undergoing the same treatment
program or if invasive treatment options, such as orthopedic surgery, should be considered.

Possible Risks and Complications

There is a slight risk of overtaxing the patient during the procedure, especially those who have
difficulty walking and moving in the first place. The use of treadmill may also cause minor
injuries especially those unfamiliar with the equipment.

There are no known complications associated with this procedure.

 Sports medicine
Sports medicine
If your child is injured while exercising, participating in a sport, or doing any type of physical
activity, you may be advised to see a sports medicine healthcare provider for treatment.
Sports medicine specialists
Sports medicine healthcare providers have special training to restore function to injured patients
so they can get moving again as soon as possible. They are experts in preventing illness and injury
in active people. Sports medicine healthcare providers do work with professional athletes. But they
also treat children and teens involved in sports and adults who exercise for personal fitness. Plus,
they treat people who have physically demanding jobs, like construction workers.

Sports medicine is not a medical specialty in itself. Most sports medicine healthcare providers are
certified in internal medicine, emergency medicine, family medicine, or another specialty. They
then get additional training. Others specialize in treating injuries in children and teens, whose
growing bodies can be quite different from those of adults. They are generally board-certified in
paediatrics or family medicine with additional training in sports medicine. Some, but not all, sports
medicine healthcare providers have surgical training, too, usually as orthopaedic surgeons.

Other experts who are not healthcare providers may work with a sports medicine healthcare
provider to provide care:

• Physical therapists: They help people rehabilitate and recover from injuries.
• Certified athletic trainers: These trainers provide rehab exercise routines to help patients
regain strength. They also develop conditioning programs to prevent future injury.
• Nutritionists: They may help with needed weight loss or weight gain. They can provide
dietary advice to help people improve their physical functioning.
Recommendation
Your child may see a sports medicine healthcare provider for an injury such as:

• Ankle sprain
• Fracture
• Knee and shoulder injury
• Tendonitis
• Exercise-induced asthma
• Heat illness
• Concussion
• Eating disorder
• Cartilage injury
Sports medicine healthcare providers can also give advice on nutrition, supplements, exercise,
and injury prevention.

Treatment

If your child has a major injury during exercise or sports, it's probably best to seek care right away
at an emergency room. Don't wait to see a sports medicine specialist. Signs of a major injury
include severe pain, swelling, numbness, and an inability to put any weight on the injured area. If
none of these symptoms are present, have your child rest at home and call your child's healthcare
provider for guidance. You may want to ask for a referral to a sports medicine specialist.

Most sports injuries do not need surgery. Treatment for a sports injury can include taking pain
relievers, putting ice on the injured area, and keeping it immobilized with a cast or sling. In some
cases, surgery may be needed to fix torn tissue or realign bones.

Smart fabrics

Smart textiles

When we think of clothing, we usually just think of it as something we wear to provide coverage,
convey our sense of style and protect us from the environmental elements. But, the future of
clothing as we know it is about to change in a big way, and smart textiles are paving the way for
this change.

So, what exactly are smart textiles? Smart textiles are fabrics that have been developed with new
technologies that provide added value to the wearer. What makes smart fabrics revolutionary is
that they have the ability to do many things that traditional fabrics cannot, including communicate,
transform, conduct energy and even grow.

Types

Smart textiles can be broken into two different categories: Aesthetic and Performance Enhancing.
Aesthetic examples include everything from fabrics that light up to fabrics that can change colour.
Some of these fabrics gather energy from the environment by harnessing vibrations, sound or heat,
reacting to this input. Then there are performance enhancing smart textiles, which will have a huge
impact on the athletic, extreme sports and military industries. There are fabrics that help regulate
body temperature, reduce wind resistance and control muscle vibration – all of which help improve
athletic performance. Other fabrics have been developed for protective clothing to guard against
extreme environmental hazards like radiation and the effects of space travel. The health and beauty
industry is also taking advantage of these innovations, which range from drug-releasing medical
textiles, to fabric with moisturizer, perfume, and anti-aging properties.
Figure 1. Dresses made from photo luminescent thread and embedded eye tracking technology
from Ying Gao.

Customer driven approach

Smart textiles and (wearable) technology go hand-in-hand, and that designers approach the design
application differently than the tech companies do, which ends up being much more friendly to the
end user. Successful wearable technology companies will start with the design first, then build the
technology around it.

Smart fabrics designer companies

There are quite a few notable designers and companies that have jumped on the smart textile
bandwagon who are doing some pretty amazing and innovative things in this space. Grado Zero
Espace is an Italian based company who is doing some amazing things with textile technology and
product design. Ying Gao, a fashion designer based in Geneva is creating clothing that combines
urban design, architecture and multimedia, and uses sensory technologies to make garments more
interactive. CuteCircuit, a London based design duo is taking their smart textiles and technology
to the runway, as they showed a collection at New York Fashion Week where the models
controlled what their dresses looked like on the runway through their mobile phones. There’s even
a company called BioCouture who is focused on bringing living and bio-based materials to fashion,
sportswear and luxury brands. In essence, they are literally growing clothes from microorganisms
like cellulose, fungi and algae.

Conclusion
This is the tip of the iceberg, and we will only start to see more and more companies and designers
emerge who will create amazingly innovative smart textiles and develop technology that will
undoubtedly change the way the live, forever.