Introduction

So, is gait analysis important? YES—without a doubt! The importance of gait analysis cannot be overstated, as it plays a cruicial role in assessing movement patterns and identifying potential issues. Let’s explore why and, if you’re not already convinced, I hope to shift your perspective and provide avenues to increase your learning!

Coming out of university, I wasn’t confident in gait analysis. I quickly realized I wasn’t alone—many young clinicians felt the same way. This gap in knowledge led me to focus on improving my skills in this area, which eventually became the foundation of The Gait Movement. My goal is to share what I’ve learned so we can all feel more confident in what should be one of our core competencies!

Referral Pathways and Networking

Gait abnormalities is one of the most frequent patient referrals into a Podiatry clinic. Many Exercise Physiologists (EPs), General Practitioners (GPs), and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) refer patients to Podiatrists after noticing something unusual in their gait. Podiatrists are viewed as the experts in this field – and so we should be!

From an EP’s perspective, you are a movement specialist. While gait analysis might not be your main focus, recognizing abnormalities and knowing when to refer to a Podiatrist is essential. Building strong referral pathways enhances client outcomes and strengthens your professional network and developing, while fostering a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare.

As a Podiatrist, I also frequently refer clients to EPs when I identify issues in gait related to hip stability and strength. While I address foot-related concerns and provide initial exercises, an EP’s expertise is needed for structured strength programming. This collaborative approach benefits the client and enhances our own professional development.

Physiotherapists have skills that cross over with both EPs and Podiatrists and while I haven’t mentioned you specifically here, I am sure you resonate with some of these uses for gait analysis in collaborative allied health care.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) Assessment

This may be an over simplified statement but…

“If everyone moved perfectly and was strong, they would never get injured.”

When injuries occur (excluding sudden impact injuries), assessing how a person moves is key to identifying the root cause. Walking is the most common movement humans perform, making gait analysis a logical starting point for understanding pain.

Besides injuries don’t tend to happen while your client is sitting on the couch! Injuries happen in weight-bearing movement. That’s why observing movement patterns is critical.

Take knee pain, for example:

If a client’s gait shows excessive pronation, knee valgus, pelvic drop, and overall instability, we can predict the strain their knee is experiencing. 

This observation guides our next steps—assessing glute strength, foot structure, and ankle mobility. Rather than conducting a lengthy list of non-weight-bearing tests, gait analysis streamlines our assessment and helps us focus on the most relevant areas.

From a Podiatry perspective, dynamic gait analysis is essential for orthotic prescriptions. Static assessments don’t always align with how the feet move under load, making gait analysis invaluable for tailoring interventions.

Client Education

Just as clinicians recognize abnormal gait patterns, clients also seek help when they notice something “off” about the way they or their family members walk.

Gait analysis is a powerful tool for engaging clients in their treatment journey. When they can see their movement patterns and understand how they contribute to pain, they are more likely to trust your expertise and adhere to treatment.

If we use the example from above again, explaining to a client with knee pain: “Joe, I see your hip dropping here, which causes your knee to turn in. This creates excessive medial force down your leg into your knee. Together with your foot arches collapsing which increases torsion on your knee, your knee is becoming the breaking point of these two forces.”

By linking these observations to treatment, such as prescribing orthotics for arch support and referring to an EP for hip strengthening, the client gains clarity on how the intervention will help—even if the treatment doesn’t directly target the knee itself.

This method enhances client confidence and compliance in treatment, leading to better outcomes.

Practicality: How Technical Does Gait Analysis Need to Be?

The reality? Not very!

You don’t need an elaborate setup to perform effective gait analysis. A simple hallway walk or treadmill assessment is often sufficient.

While high-tech gait labs exist, they are rarely necessary in everyday practice. A treadmill is particularly useful for:

• Observing sagittal plane movement

• Assessing running gait (as hallways are often too short)

• Capturing better quality slow-motion video for review

For those in gym-based settings, treadmills are convenient and many clients are accustomed to using them. However, some clients may feel awkward or unsteady on a treadmill, in which case a hallway assessment is perfectly fine — you must see their most natural gait for the most accurate assessment. 

Video analysis is invaluable for both client education and record-keeping. Various free or paid apps will offer features of drawing angles, lines or reference points on your video to magnify visuals for the client and your analysis. Reviewing a slow-motion replay enhances your observations and helps you document key findings without relying solely on memory.

So, our advice is:

KISS principle—Keep It Simple, Stupid! 

Overcomplicating the process wastes time and adds unnecessary expense.

Conclusion

At The Gait Movement, we firmly believe gait analysis is essential in Podiatry, Exercise Physiology and Physiotherapy practice. If you’re looking to improve your skills and integrate gait analysis into your assessments more effectively, check out our courses. Our Foundations Course is the perfect starting point if you’re not yet confident or have limited experience in this area. (Note, if you think you will want to learn beyond our Foundations Course, we do have some great package options where we’ve bundled a few courses together, check it out on our Courses page.)

Mastering gait analysis will not only enhance your clinical skills but also improve client outcomes and strengthen your professional network. Let’s make gait analysis a core part of our practice!