Transcription
And gait is not just a style of walking, but is much more than you think. You should know what the different phases of walking are, the water requirements of normal walking, and also how to initiate it. Hello, Namaste, and welcome to my channel, friends. This is me, Physiotherapist NPT, or thanks for its Associate Professor at Vikas College of Physiotherapy. From this video, I am starting a new series on the biomechanics of gait. So let's start with the first chapter of the events of the day.
Human locomotion or gait may be described as a translation, reproduction of the body's all parts. It is not only your legs that are moving, but in brief, your entire body is going into motion, and all the components, the head, arms, and legs, are involved. And you can perform a proper gait, and devoid of your accordingly related rotary movements of body segments, perform this gait properly. As discussed in the definition, it is not only the lower extremities that are for movement, but also the swinging movements of arms and legs contribute to 25% of the strike, contributing the remaining 50% to the gait.
Now let's talk about the fundamental purpose of understanding gait, which will describe the motive behind understanding the gait cycle and also how it will be beneficial for us for physiotherapy practice. The first fundamental principle of understanding gait is how each component prevents staggering from falling. We will understand how balance or coordination of limbs, head, and trunk also plays a very crucial role in maintaining a proper gait cycle. The second point is to understand how we can maintain an upright posture and also balance our body while performing the gait cycle. The third fundamental principle of understanding gait is how force is controlled to achieve sufficient ground clearance, as well as a gentle heel-to-toe landing while walking.
The next fundamental principle of understanding gait is to understand how mechanical energy is generated and how it is controlled to maintain the velocity or speed of walking, and also if you want to increase or decrease the speed of walking, how it can be done. On a particular point, the main topic is the phases and different phases of walking. The first phase is weight acceptance, which is the most demanding and basic phase, which has to be performed by any individual in terms of performing walking or a normal gait pattern because during the walking process, weight is transferred from one stance to another side, and this is possible only when the acceptance itself is there, and only then can we maintain forward body progression.
Now, the second phase is single-leg support. In a normal gait cycle, it happens twice, but the person has to transfer the full body weight onto a particular one side after opening, and that is possible only if the same is provided. Interactively, while progression is continued. The third phase is limb advancement, which means when a person is performing, his foot leaves the ground, and if there is sufficient clearance from the floor, as well as all opposition and acceleration, it is difficult for progression, but only then can we have a proper gait. All the phases of performing normal gait, which is in the body, are used only for body progression generated by means of concentric contractions of muscles. At the same time, we also know that unless the energy is removed, with the eccentric contraction, the velocity of walking will increase, and if the road turns, we will not be able to stop the walking. So, to stop the walking, we need eccentric contractions, and to achieve normal gait, we need concentric contractions.
After understanding all the phases of gait, we should know what the requirements are for performing those phases. There are four major criteria for walking. The first one is equilibrium, which is the ability to maintain an upright posture and mental balance while performing walking. The second is locomotion, which is the present and rhythmic stepping. The third requirement for performing a proper gait is musculoskeletal integrity, because if the normal bone, joint, and muscle function is not there, then definitely we cannot perform a proper gait cycle. The fourth important requirement for a gait cycle is neurological control, because we must receive and send signals telling the body how and when to move. So, for this, artificial and sensory motor inputs are coming in to understand what gait is and its initiation. Now, this is a very small part of the gait cycle, a fraction of a second, but if it is not happening properly, it can disturb the whole gait cycle. So, to start walking from the initial position, what we require is a standing position from which there is activation of dorsiflexor anterior, along with vastus lateralis muscles, which also initiates the gastrocnemius muscle, so that forward propulsion and torque are generated. The inclined body anteriorly from the hips, and the center of pressure from the foot shifts either posteriorly or anteriorly and immediately to the supporting limb. While performing all this, there will be a collection of living things, almost simultaneously with the contraction of dorsiflexor anterior and vastus lateralis muscles, and a torque is produced which helps the body to move towards the supporting limb.
So, you can imagine like a person is performing a cat-walk, so they are trying to put their foot forward, or forward, towards the supporting limb. In a normal gait pattern, it does not involve as much of a prospective bias, but a cross-pattern movement is present in normal gait. This shifting of the center of pressure anteriorly and posteriorly, or anteriorly and laterally, helps the limb to leave the ground and perform the walking pattern. This gait initiation activity ends when the muscles tapping or swing extremity leaves the ground, or when the heel touches the ground, and total liberation of the gait is initiated. This is just about 0.6 seconds.
So, summary, friends, and students, these are the fundamental basics of gait, gait initiation, and different types of gait. So, before understanding the normal gait cycle, in the next part of this video, I will explain to you all the normal gait cycle and all the features of the gait cycle.
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