A refined view of the determinants of gait: significance of heel rise.

Objectives: Although the major determinants of gait described by Saunders and colleagues have been accepted for more than 40 years, recent investigations raise the question of whether the reduction in center of mass (COM) displacement compared with a compass gait model indeed results from the factors originally described. We tested the hypothesis that heel rise at the end of stance is a true determinant that can explain a considerable portion of the reduction in COM vertical displacement during walking.

Design: Stereophotogrammetric data during walking were collected.

Hip hiking and circumduction: quantitative definitions.

Objective: To define and propose clinically useful quantitative measurements of hip hiking and circumduction using standard three-dimensional motion analysis techniques.

Design: We studied pelvic, hip, and thigh motions in 23 subjects with hemiparetic, stiff-legged gait as a result of stroke and compared these motions with those obtained from 23 able-bodied controls.

Results: We observed significantly increased hip abduction on the unaffected limb during stance, with simultaneous elevation of the affected side of the pelvis during swing.

Aging of skeletal muscle: a 12-yr longitudinal study.

The present study examines age-related changes in skeletal muscle size and function after 12 yr. Twelve healthy sedentary men were studied in 1985-86 (T1) and nine (initial mean age 65.4 +/- 4.

Personal exercise habits and counseling practices of primary care physicians: a national survey.

Objective: Regular physical activity can reduce the incidence and prevalence of many chronic diseases. A vast majority of Americans cite their physician as their primary source of information regarding healthy lifestyle decisions. This study was designed to obtain information about the personal exercise behavior and counseling practices of primary care physicians, to evaluate the relationship between their personal and professional exercise practices, and to determine whether physician specialty is associated with these practices.

Rectus femoris: its role in normal gait.

Objective: To analyze the role of the rectus femoris muscle in nondisabled gait at various walking velocities using fine-wire dynamic electromyography.

Design: Descriptive study. Fine-wire electromyography data were collected from the rectus femoris during level walking at four walking speeds.

Gender differences in joint biomechanics during walking: normative study in young adults.

The effect of gender on specific joint biomechanics during gait has been largely unexplored. Given the perceived, subjective, and temporal differences in walking between genders, we hypothesized that quantitative analysis would reveal specific gender differences in joint biomechanics as well. Sagittal kinematic (joint motion) and kinetic (joint torque and power) data from the lower limbs during walking were collected and analyzed in 99 young adult subjects (49 females), aged 20 to 40 years, using an optoelectronic motion analysis and force platform system.

A maladaptive gait abnormality in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.

A maladaptive pattern of abnormally increased anterior pelvic tilt during gait was documented using quantitative gait analysis in two patients presenting with lumbar spinal stenosis. Both patients also had, by physical examination, mild bilateral hip flexion contracture impairments which mayor may not have been directly related to the spinal stenosis. There is no literature to date supporting the presence of either hip flexion contractures or excessive anterior pelvic tilt during gait in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.