A gait analysis is an evaluation technique often used by clinicians to study the way that their clients run or walk. The objective of it is to assess if the gait is resulting in any problems that they may be having and also to help plan any treatments which can be needed to change the gait to help with those problems. It is just a matter of watching a person walk or run, however very sophisticated gear and statistical analysis may be done. At one end of the range could just be a visual assessment of the way that a person walks or runs, however the problem with this is the fact that numerous events of the running cycle happen so quickly for the eyes to see properly. The a wide range of programs available nowadays for smartphone's to video the way in which a person is running or walking and then slow the frames per second recorded on replay to do a much more thorough assessment. On the opposite end of the range is the complicated 3D assessment that is done with lots of markers attached to the body and the use of multiple video cameras that a computer subsequently converts into a 3D replay of the walking.
There are more options for assessing the gait which include making use of systems that estimate muscle activity or pressures underneath the feet. These alternative approaches works extremely well with all the above methods to provide an extensive breakdown of the gait of you. Exactly what method is used and just how deep the analysis is carried out will be depending on the type of the clinical condition which the individual has and how challenging it is and how sophisticated that the treatment needs to be. Researching laboratories likewise use different techniques for researching and they frequently make use of apparatus at the more sophisticated end of the choices.
Among the basic concerns is the distinction between a 2 dimensional (2D) and a 3 dimensional (3D) analysis. A 2D gait analysis costs less, but a 3D gait analysis can provide additional information. A 2D gait analysis primarily typically has a look at movement in a single plane or direction and it is analogous to looking at a photo. It is typically done with just one single camera. A 3D evaluation has a look at movement in all directions, therefore uses several video cameras and relies on significant processing assets to blend all the information from the multiple cameras.
Another fundamental decision is the use of a treadmill. A treadmill ensures that the patient may be analysed in one place at the exact same steady speed on multiple occasions. An overground gait analysis makes it harder to regulate for the velocity, particularly on subsequent days. The other concern is that you will find several variations involving the running on a treadmill as opposed to a gait overground, so it will not be a true portrayal of how a person walks or runs.
A lot of the issues surrounding gait analysis, in particular the use of 2D and 3D in a clinical setting was talked about with an expert, Chris Bishop in an episode of the podiatry livestream, PodChatLive. In the show the two hosts talked with him in regards to the alternatives that health professionals could use in their daily clinical work.