Spatiotemporal parameters of gait in terms of symmetry in asymptomatic individuals

Abstract

Context: Human gait, or the way people walk, is a complicated motor activity involving coordinated movements of different parts of the body. It is crucial in everyday activities and is influenced by a variety of factors such as age, health status, and musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. Understanding the many characteristics of gait, especially symmetry and asymmetry, is critical for getting insights into normal locomotion patterns and recognising potential deviations associated with certain conditions. Aims: The current study aims to understand the different aspects of gait such as symmetry and asymmetry of gait to develop a deeper understanding of the underpinnings of human gait. Settings and Design: Convenience sampling was used. This was a cross-sectional observational study. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 72 healthy adults between the age group of 20 and 80 according to the criteria. Convenience sampling was used. Subjects were divided into six groups having 12 subjects in each group. Gait analysis was done using GAITRite. Subjects were asked to walk three times on the walkway at their preferred speed. Since all the variables are continuous, all the data have been processed in terms of the mean. Statistical Analysis: The Statistical Software, namely Jamovi 0.9.5.12 (jamovi.org), was used for statistical analysis. Results: It was observed that step time and cycle time can be considered parameters representing symmetry and parameters such as step length, stride length, H-H base of support, swing (% of gait cycle) stance (% of gait cycle), single support (% of gait cycle), and double support (% of gait cycle) represent gait asymmetry. Conclusions: This study establishes the asymmetric parameters of gait across the age span the minimum detectable difference in all the parameters were calculated.