Table 2 Spatiotemporal gait parameters
Gait – the medical term used to describe the human locomotor movement of walking in healthy people – is simple in terms of execution, but complex in terms of biomechanics and motor control [35]. Within straight forward gait the commonly examined gait variables can be classified into parameters of rhythm (e.g., single and double support time or cadence) and pace (e.g., speed or stride length). According to the framework by Hollmann et al. [35] we define the spatiotemporal gait parameters as follows: | |
|---|---|
Gait parameter | Description |
Pace | |
Gait speed (cm/s or m/s) | Distance traveled divided by the ambulation time; it is commonly expressed in centimeters per second (cm/s) or meters per second (m/s) |
Step length (cm) | Distance that one part of the foot travels in front of the same part of the other foot during each step; typically, the distance from initial contact to initial contact, which in healthy gait usually coincides with heel strike |
Stride length (cm) | Distance from initial contact of one lower limb to the next initial contact of the same lower limb |
Base of support | |
Step width (cm) or Step width SD (cm) | Lateral distance from heel center of one footprint to the line of progression formed by two consecutive footprints of the opposite foot or the standard deviation of this distance |
Rhythm | |
Cadence (steps/min) or Step time (s) | Number of steps per minute, sometimes referred to as step rate |
Stride time (s) | Time elapsed from initial contact of one foot to initial contact of the opposite foot |
Swing time (s) | Time elapsed between the initial contacts of two consecutive footfalls of the same foot |
Stance time (s) | Weight bearing portion of each gait cycle initiated at heel contact and ending at toe-off of the same foot; stance time is the time elapsed between the initial contact and the last contact of a single footfall |
Single support time (s) | Single support occurs when only one foot is in contact with the ground; single support time is the time elapsed between the last contact of the opposite footfall to the initial contact of the next footfall of the same foot |
Phases | |
Swing (% gait cycle (GC)) | Swing phase is initiated with toe off and ends with initial contact of the same foot; swing time is the time elapsed between the last contact of the current footfall to the initial contact of the next footfall of the same foot |
Stance time (%GC) | Stance time normalized to stride time |
Single support (%GC) | Single support time normalized to stride time |
Double support (%GC) | Double support time normalized to stride time. The double support time is approximately 20% of the gait cycle during which both feet are in ground contact |
Double support time (s) | Double support time occurs when both feet are in contact with the ground simultaneously; double support time is the sum of the time elapsed during two periods of double support in the gait cycle |
Variability | |
Gait speed (%CV) | Coefficient of variation (%CV or %CoV) reflects the variability for each of the parameters; it is the average standard deviation in the gait parameter divided by the average mean of the gait parameter. Higher values indicate a more variable gait pattern. |
Step length or width (%CV) | |
Step time (%CV) | |
Stride length (%CV) | |
Stride time or speed (%CV) | |
Swing time (%CV) | |
Stance time (%CV) | |