gait assessment

Without a doubt the most difficult movement to help someone improve is WALKING. The two main problems associated with loss of stability in the gait cycle are smaller stride lengths and a loss of speed. A slowing of neural firing speed, (the brains message to the nerves within muscles for movement) from lack of exercise produces a slower response time for the initiation of movement. To make up for the body’s lost reaction it compensates by slowing everything down and shortening our stride to overcome our lost reflexes and reaction times. In theory this sounds like a good thing, but in reality this sets people up for disastrous accidents. In this article, I will show you some simple tests to use for identifying exactly where your loss of stability is that is affecting how you walk, and how these tests can then become a great exercise for significantly improving your walking ability.

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