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Updated: May 22, 2026
Clinical-oriented Three-dimensional Gait Analysis Method for Evaluating Gait Disorder
Published on: March 4, 2018
Influence of altered gait patterns on the hip joint contact forces
Alessandra Carriero1, Amy Zavatsky, Julie Stebbins
1a Department of Bioengineering , Imperial College London, , London , UK.
Insights
Altered gait in children can significantly increase hip joint contact forces, potentially leading to bone deformities. Understanding these forces is crucial for early intervention and preserving bone health in developing children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Orthopedics
- Biomechanics
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Gait deviations in children are frequently associated with bone deformities, especially in the proximal femur.
- Abnormal stresses from altered gait patterns can negatively impact bone development and cause deformities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the variations in hip joint contact forces across different gait patterns in children.
- To investigate the relationship between gait characteristics and hip joint loading.
Main Methods:
- Utilized inverse dynamic analysis and a static optimization algorithm to calculate muscle and hip joint contact forces.
- Employed a generic musculoskeletal model, scaled to individual children's dimensions, for kinematic and kinetic analyses.
- Analyzed data from four children with distinct walking patterns.
Main Results:
- All children with altered gaits exhibited deviations in both the magnitude and orientation of hip joint contact forces compared to normal.
- The child with the most pronounced gait deviations experienced hip joint contact forces up to 30% higher than normal.
- Increased muscle forces, necessary for maintaining a crouched stance in severe gait deviations, were identified as a likely cause for elevated joint forces.
Conclusions:
- Altered gait significantly impacts hip joint loading in children.
- Quantifying these joint forces provides valuable insights for developing treatment strategies.
- Early intervention focused on optimizing joint loading can help prevent bone deformities and preserve skeletal health in pediatric populations.
Abstract:
Children who exhibit gait deviations often present a range of bone deformities, particularly at the proximal femur. Altered gait may affect bone growth and lead to deformities by exerting abnormal stresses on the developing bones. The objective of this study was to calculate variations in the hip joint contact forces with different gait patterns. Muscle and hip joint contact forces of four children with different walking characteristics were calculated using an inverse dynamic analysis and a static optimisation algorithm. Kinematic and kinetic analyses were based on a generic musculoskeletal model scaled down to accommodate the dimensions of each child. Results showed that for all the children with altered gaits both the orientation and magnitude of the hip joint contact force deviated from normal. The child with the most severe gait deviations had hip joint contact forces 30% greater than normal, most likely due to the increase in muscle forces required to sustain his crouched stance. Determining how altered gait affects joint loading may help in planning treatment strategies to preserve correct loading on the bone from a young age.
