Gait Assessment

This video demonstrates one way of conducting a gait assessment. This assessment is observational, and requires a systematic approach to describing each part of the body. A gait cycle is made of of two (2) phases: a stance phase (when the foot/limb is in contact with the ground) and a swing phase (when the foot/limb is in the air). Note any obvious abnormalities and asymmetry. Then systematically obvious each body region and describe what you see. A step is from the initial contact of one foot to the initial contact of the opposite foot, while a stride is the initial contact of one foot until that foot contacts the ground again after the subsequent swing phase of that limb.