Summary measures for clinical gait analysis: a literature review

Instrumented 3D-gait analysis (3D-GA) is an important method used to obtain information that is crucial for establishing the level of functional limitation due to pathology, observing its evolution over time and evaluating rehabilitative intervention effects. However, a typical 3D-GA evaluation produces a vast amount of data, and despite its objectivity, its use is complicated, and the data interpretation is difficult. It is even more difficult to obtain an overview on patient cohorts for a comparison. Moreover, there is a growing awareness of the need for a concise index, specifically, a single measure of the 'quality' of a particular gait pattern. Several gait summary measures, which have been used in conjunction with 3D-GA, have been proposed to objectify clinical impression, quantify the degree of gait deviation from normal, stratify the severity of pathology, document the changes in gait patterns over time and evaluate interventions.