Me Hazlewood

Gait analysis alters decision-making in cerebral palsy.

This study was designed to assess the impact of gait analysis on the treatment of patients with cerebral palsy. One hundred two ambulant patients with cerebral palsy were assessed clinically and with gait analysis. Separate treatment proposals for each patient were recorded after clinical examination and after gait analysis. The results of the two methods of assessment were compared. After clinical assessment, 71 of the 102 patients evaluated were recommended for a surgical procedure and 31 for nonoperative treatment. After gait analysis, the indications for treatment were confirmed in 91 cases (89%). Clinical assessment by the same orthopedic surgeon was in close agreement with gait analysis in identifying an indication for surgery. There was less agreement in the type or level of operation recommended. Gait analysis altered the decision in 106 of 267 operations (40%). There was good agreement for bone surgery, suggesting that clinical evaluation of torsional problems was fairly reliable. The poorer agreement seen for soft tissue operations probably reflects the difficulties in assessing tone-related problems in these patients clinically. This study confirms the value of gait analysis for decision-making in cerebral palsy.

Normalisation of gait data in children

The comparative effect of semi-dimensional (SD) and non-dimensional (ND) normalisation on the results of a longitudinal study of gait in 5-12-year old children was investigated. The use of both height and leg length in the normalisation was examined. Only ND analysis could be used to identify subjects with the same accelerations. ND analysis of the childrens gait indicated that there was little change in the combination of step length and cadence used to achieve a particular velocity between 5 and 12. The first peak and mid-stance trough values of the vertical component of ground reaction force did not change with age. We recommend the use of ND normalisation rather that SD to allow comparisons between individuals of differing size and mass.

ESMAC Award Can transverse plane rotations be estimated from video tape gait analysis

The use of video tape in gait analysis is widespread and is frequently used when more sophisticated 3-dimensional analysis systems are not available or cannot be used. Its major shortcoming however is that it does not readily yield information about rotations in the transverse plane which may be amongst the most diagnostically significant features of pathological gait. This paper describes an inexpensive device which may be used, in conjunction with video taping, to aid visual estimation of transverse plane rotations, and quantifies the accuracy with which this was done by experienced observers. Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

Can transverse plane rotations be estimated from video tape gait analysis

The use of video tape in gait analysis is widespread and is frequently used when more sophisticated 3-dimensional analysis systems are not available or cannot be used. Its major shortcoming however is that it does not readily yield information about rotations in the transverse plane which may be amongst the most diagnostically significant features of pathological gait. This paper describes an inexpensive device which may be used, in conjunction with video taping, to aid visual estimation of transverse plane rotations, and quantifies the accuracy with which this was done by experienced observers. Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.