Gait Functional Analysis: Study of the lower limb with a multi-segment foot model

Abstract

Gait analysis is presently a common and useful tool for both biomechanical research and clinical practice. A lot of studies have developed multi-segment foot models in order to characterize foot kinematics. However, very few studies deal with dynamic analysis and no validation has yet been done. The present study proposes a multi-segment foot model that allows assessment of movements and mechanical actions within the foot. The instrumentation consists in a Motion Analysis® System with eight Eagle® cameras and two Bertec® forceplates. One RsScan® baropodometric plate is also used. Ten healthy people are involved in this study. For each subject, ten gait trials are collected combining kinematic, dynamic and baropodometric information. An original method of external actions distribution based on Coulomb’s laws will be used for inverse dynamics computation. The results are consistent with literature data and additional information (joint angles and joint moments) is available with the present study. Future works involving more subjects will provide the statistical analysis required to assess the detection of pathologic cases.