The systematic study of human walking or running patterns using observation, measurement, and technology to assess movement efficiency and identify potential issues. It examines factors like stride length, foot strike patterns, and joint angles to optimize performance or prevent injury.
'Gait' comes from Old Norse 'gata' meaning 'path' or 'way of going,' while 'analysis' derives from Greek 'analyein' meaning 'to break up.' Clinical gait analysis began in the 1870s, with modern video and computer analysis developing in the 1980s.
Modern gait analysis can detect differences as small as 2-3 degrees in joint angles and timing differences of milliseconds between legs. Elite distance runners have remarkably symmetrical gaits - less than 2% difference between left and right legs - while recreational runners often show 10-15% asymmetries that can lead to overuse injuries over thousands of steps!
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