Segment angle. Range of motion was similar because thigh angles were similar between the normal gait and the gait with a rehabilitation boot. In the normal gait, the peak flexion was 29 degrees and the peak extension was -16 degrees. During gait with the rehabilitation boot, the peak flexion was 27 degrees and the peak extension was -17 degrees. The range of motion for normal gait was 45 degrees, and for gait with a rehabilitation boot was 44 degrees.
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Figure 3. Thigh angle during normal gait (left) and gait with a rehabilitation boot (right). The thigh segment is measured from the vertical axis. Anatomical position corresponds to a zero degree angle. Increasing values represent clockwise rotation, while decreasing values represent counterclockwise rotation. | |
Joint angle 1. Knee joint range of motion was less for gait with a rehabilitation boot. During normal gait for the knee joint angle, peak extension was 186 degrees, and peak flexion was 107 degrees. The range of motion for the normal gait was 79 degrees. For gait with a rehabilitation boot, peak extension was 180 degrees, while peak flexion was 113. The range of motion for gait with a rehabilitation boot was 67 degrees.
Figure 4. Knee joint angle during normal gait
(left) and gait with a rehabilitation boot (right). Joint
angle is measured between the thigh and lower leg segments,
posteriorly. Anatomical position occurs at 180 degrees, and
increasing angles represent extension.
Joint angle 2. Hip joint range of motion was very similar between the two movements. Hip joint angle for normal gait reached peak flexion at 202 degrees, while peak flexion for gait with a rehabilitation boot was 201 degrees. Peak extension for normal gait was 160 degrees, and peak extension for gait with a rehabilitation boot was 161 degrees. The range of motion for normal gait was 42 degrees, while the range of motion for gait with a rehabilitation boot was 40 degrees. The peak flexion angle during normal gait occurred at 1.5 seconds, and the peak flexion angle for gait with a rehabilitation boot occurred at an earlier time of 1.3 seconds. The peak extension angles were similarly spaced, with normal gait at 1.1 seconds and rehabilitation boot gait at 0.8 seconds.
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Figure 5. Hip joint angle during normal gait (left) and gait with a rehabilitation boot (right). Joint angle is measured between the trunk and thigh segments, anteriorly. Anatomical position is 180 degrees, and decreasing angles represent extension. | |
Joint velocity. Hip angular velocity demonstrated a greater range for normal gait than for gait with a rehabilitation boot. Peak hip extension velocity during normal gait was 196 degrees per second, and peak flexion velocity was -117 degrees per second. For gait with a rehabilitation boot, peak extension was 188 degrees per second and peak flexion was -104 degrees per second.
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Figure 6. Hip angular velocity for normal gait (left) and gait with a rehabilitation boot (right). Positive velocity represents flexion. | |
Angle-Angle Plot. For both normal gait and gait with a rehabilitation boot, coordination for the hip and knee joint moved through sequential and coupled phases. For the first phase, the knee angle was held fairly constant while the hip angle decreased dramatically. This vertical component represents the stance phase. The knee and hip joint movements were coupled in swing phase, depicted by the diagonal portion of the graphs. Finally, the knee and hip returned to a sequential pattern, with the hip held constant and the knee joint increasing to conclude swing phase.
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Figure 7. Coordination of the knee joint and hip joint angles in the normal gait (left) and gait with a rehabilitation boot (right). The arrows indicate direction of rotation and start position. | |
