Why Does Gait Analysis Matter?

An altered gait pattern can affect movement efficiency and change how load moves through your body. For example, pain or weakness around the knee may change how you load the foot, hip or lower back.

Gait analysis does not look at your feet alone. Your physiotherapist may consider your hips, knees, ankles, feet, trunk, balance, strength, mobility, footwear and activity demands.

The same visible gait pattern can also have different causes. A limp may result from pain, weakness, joint stiffness, reduced balance, fatigue, poor confidence or several factors working together.

What Gait Changes Can Be Identified?

A gait assessment may identify changes in timing, balance, control or loading. These findings do not diagnose the cause by themselves. Your physiotherapist interprets them alongside your symptoms and clinical examination.

• Hip drop or pelvic shift: may reflect reduced hip control, pain, fatigue or altered loading. Management may include hip strengthening, movement retraining or addressing the underlying source of symptoms.
• Reduced foot clearance: may occur with stiffness, weakness, fatigue or reduced swing-phase control. Strength, mobility and balance may need assessment.
• Reduced weight-bearing on one side: may occur with pain, weakness, reduced confidence or balance concerns. Graded loading and appropriate fall prevention strategies may be useful.
• Foot drop or toe catching: may reflect reduced ankle control or neurological involvement and warrants appropriate assessment.
• Overstriding or heavy landing when running: may influence braking forces and lower-limb loading. Training load, cadence, strength, footwear and running technique may all need consideration.

How Do Physiotherapists Assess Gait?

Your physiotherapist combines observation of your walking or running pattern with a clinical examination. This helps determine whether the movement pattern is important and what may be contributing to it.

Assessment may consider:

• your symptoms and when they occur;
• joint mobility and flexibility;
• strength and muscular control;
• balance and stability;
• foot posture and footwear;
• walking or running load;
• work, sport and daily activity demands; and
• previous injury, surgery or medical history.

What Happens During a Gait Analysis Appointment?

Your physiotherapist will usually start by discussing your symptoms, goals, footwear, activity levels and injury history.

Depending on your problem, they may then watch you walk, jog, run, step, squat or balance. They may also assess strength, flexibility, joint movement and movement control.

When useful, video analysis can slow movement down and make subtle differences in timing, stride or loading easier to review.

How To Prepare for a Gait Analysis Appointment

You usually do not need any special preparation. However, bringing the equipment you normally use can make the assessment more useful.

Methods of Gait Analysis

Gait can be assessed in several ways. Your physiotherapist will choose methods that suit the clinical question rather than using technology simply because it is available.

Technology and Gait Analysis

Depending on the clinical question and equipment available, gait assessment may also use tools such as pressure measurement, force analysis, wearable sensors or motion-analysis systems.

These tools can provide additional information about timing, load distribution and movement. However, technology should support rather than replace clinical reasoning.

How Can Physiotherapy Help With Gait?

Treatment depends on what your assessment identifies. The aim is not simply to make your walking look different. Instead, management should address the factors that affect your function, comfort, confidence or activity.

Your plan may include strength training, balance training, mobility exercises, movement retraining, activity modification or advice about walking aids when appropriate.

Progress can then be reviewed against the activities that matter to you, whether that is everyday walking, stairs, exercise, work or sport.

Gait Analysis for Running Injuries

Gait assessment can form part of a broader review when running symptoms keep returning. A physiotherapist may consider stride, cadence, landing, hip and trunk control, footwear, strength, training load and recovery.

However, running injuries rarely depend on technique alone. Training history, recent workload changes, tissue capacity, recovery and previous injury should also be considered.

If running technique, recurring running injury or running performance is your main concern, see our dedicated running analysis guide.

Working With Your Podiatrist

Physiotherapists and podiatrists may work together when gait concerns involve foot mechanics, footwear or orthotics. If you already have a preferred podiatrist, coordinated care can help avoid conflicting advice.

A shared approach may be useful for problems involving the foot, ankle, knee, hip or lower back, particularly when symptoms change after new footwear, orthotics or changes in walking or running load.

Is Gait Analysis Right for You?

Gait analysis may be useful when walking, running, stairs, balance or sport no longer feels normal. It can also help when symptoms keep returning and it is unclear whether strength, mobility, footwear, balance, training load or movement technique is contributing.

Consider an assessment if you notice:

• a persistent limp;
• repeated trips or reduced foot clearance;
• one-sided loading;
• changes in walking confidence;
• recurring running injuries;
• pain that appears during longer walks; or
• a noticeable change after injury, surgery, new footwear or orthotics.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1. Doyle E, Landorf KB, Smith RM, et al. The Effectiveness of Gait Retraining on Running-Related Injury and Factors Associated With Changes in Running Biomechanics: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2022;52(4):192-206.
2. Gaudette LW, Willy RW. Clinical Application of Gait Retraining in the Injured Runner. J Clin Med. 2022;11(21):6497. doi:10.3390/jcm11216497.
3. Mason R, Pearson LT, Barry G, et al. Wearables for Running Gait Analysis: A Systematic Review. Sports Med. 2023;53(1):241-268. doi:10.1007/s40279-022-01760-6.

What To Do Next

If walking or running feels different, symptoms keep returning or you are concerned about your movement pattern, a physiotherapist can assess your gait and explain which findings are relevant.

The next step should be based on the cause and your goals. This may involve targeted exercise, movement retraining, balance work, footwear advice, load modification or referral to another health professional when appropriate.