Gait Laboratory

In January 2015, the London Orthotic Consultancy (LOC) opened its video vector gait laboratory, at its headquarters clinic in Kingston-upon-Thames. Our Manchester clinic has similar facilities as we have access to Salford Univeristy’s Gait Laboratory which is located in the Brain Blatchford building on the University campus.

A video vector gait laboratory uses sophisticated cameras that synchronise with a force measurement plate.  

The force plate is a highly sensitive measurement device, set within the floor that measures the force being applied to it during walking. It measures force as 3 components allowing a vector or graphical representation of the force to be projected onto an image from the camera.  

The Gait Lab in use with Quentin during clinical assessment​​

Analysis

The result is that we can accurately see where the vector is located, in particular, its direction and where it is in relation to the joints in the stance leg.  

Understanding where the force is positioned in relation to the leg is essential for accurate fine-tuning of the lower limb orthotics that we prescribe.  

For example, if the vector is positioned too far in front of the knee at late mid-stance, there will be a hyperextension force applied to the knee. The aim of our work within the gait laboratory will be to produce prescriptions that are designed to: 

• protect the bones and joints of the lower leg; 
• maintain the range of movement of the hip, knee and ankle;
• return the gait to as normal a pattern as possible. 

After fitting an Ankle Foot Orthotic (AFO) the vector is now correctly aligned relative to the foot, knee and hip as shown in the image on the right. The AFO has brought the lower limb into a correct alignment and at midstance, the shank is correctly positioned at 10 degrees to the vertical.