walking - gait cycle
DESCRIPTION
Walking is the 2nd most common conscious function of our body. Explore this very complex motion. Learn more at www.HyProCure.com.TRANSCRIPT
Walking
The Gait-Cycle
Michael E. Graham, DPM, FACFAS, FASPS
Walking is a series of interrupted falls.
Did you know…
…walking is the second most common conscious function of our
body next to breathing.
The Average Person takes:
Nearly 7,000 steps a day
2,555,000 steps a year
25,550,000 steps every ten years
Let’s do some
simple math.
Average number of steps taken for the average, non-sportive, person.
• 10 years of walking = 25,550,000 steps• 20 years of walking = 51,100,000 steps• 30 years of walking = 76,650,000 steps• 40 years of walking = 102,200,000 steps• 50 years of walking = 127,750,000 steps• 60 years of walking = 153,300,000 steps• 70 years of walking = 178,850,000 steps
Walking should be easy and effortless, just like breathing.
Our feet shouldn’t hurt after we use them.
There are 2 main phasesof walking.
Non-weight bearing No-Contact Swing Phase (no weight on the foot)
Weight-bearing Contact Phase
(weight on the foot)
Non-Contact Phase
Foot has just left the ground and is
advancing forward until the heel is
about to touch the ground again.
No weight on the foot from the body
above.
Contact PhaseFoot/heel makes contact with the
weightbearing surface below.
4 to 8 times the weight of the body is passing through the foot.
3 main parts to this phase of walking
Contact Phase
• Heel Strike• Mid-stance• Push-off/Toe-off
There are complex motions of the foot that
are essential for an optimum functioning
foot.
These motions result in a locking and unlocking of the joints within the foot.
Pronationand
Supination
The amount of pronation & supination is very important as there are
specific periods during the walking cycle when the foot should be supinated and other times when it needs to be
pronated.
Supination - Pronation
• Opposite movements between the ankle bone and the foot.
• Think of it as a winding and unwinding of the foot mechanism.
• A period of stability and less stability of the foot structures while walking.
These motions should occur like a well played symphony.
There are so many different individual instruments or components working with and against each
other for the end result of a
dynamic unified effort.
What is supination?
This is an over-supinated foot.
Foot angles inward
Ankle bone (talus)
This is pronation.
This is a severely pronated foot.
Talus goes this way
Foot angles out-ward
During pronation the foot is a Mobile Adapter
This is a very important aspect of the foot to allow slight accommodation to an uneven weightbearing surface below the foot.
During this time there is a normal amount of adaptation that is acceptable and built into the mechanics of the foot.
What is the normal amount of motion ?Pronation should only have a few degrees.
Supination should be twice
the amount of pronation.
What controls how much pronation or supination occurs in the foot?
It starts with the talus (ankle bone).
And its stability/connections to two hindfoot bones.
There is a specific point when the foot needs to be supinating.
During the contact phase of walking the hindfoot lands supinated,
quickly pronates, and re-supinates for toe-off.
At mid-stance the foot needs to transition from its supinated position
into a pronated position.
Finally, the hindfoot must transition back into supination in order to prepare
the foot for lift-off.
Can the bottom of our feet tell us anything?
A foot print only tells
a very small part of
the story of foot motion.
When walking we land on our outer heel.
Then the outside of the foot makes contact.
Before you know it your whole foot in on the ground.
So when we are walking the forces from our body travel through the back and outside of our foot.
Then these forces should make their way through our big toe joint.
But that is just what is happening on the bottom of our foot.
Just imaging what is happening above the bottom of our foot- a lot of very important things.
When the individual parts are working/functioning in harmony walking is easy, however, if there is a
prolonged period of pronation, symptoms will occur. It is just a matter of time.
The mechanics of these feet
are not right.
This results in a prolonged period of pronation
or over-pronation.
But that is another slide presentation.
Life is motion
and
when you can’t walk,
your quality of life
quickly fades.
For more info please visit: www.hyprocure.com
View our on-line training
www.hyprocuredoctors.com
“Changing Lives, One Step at a Time”