Gait analysis--a new diagnostic tool]

Three-dimensional gait analysis is a systematic measurement, description, and assessment of human gait. Gait analysis is established as a useful diagnostic tool in patients with gait problems, as it is not possible to obtain an adequate and detailed understanding of such a complex mechanism as gait in a conventional clinical examination. The method has provided a better understanding of both normal gait and abnormal gait patterns; it is a suitable instrument for evaluation of treatment results as well as for scientific work. The first gait laboratory for clinical use in Norway was established in 2002 in the Section for child neurology at Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. In this article the procedure for gait analysis is described and the clinical value is indicated by a case record of a child with cerebral palsy. Gait analysis has entailed a change of policy with regard to surgical treatment in this patient group. Previously, operative intervention at a single level was usual, whereas current practice involves simultaneous interventions at several levels of both lower extremities. After three years' experience we recommend gait analysis in routine diagnostics, particularly as a preoperative evaluation, in all children with gait problems and in the follow up after surgery or other treatment.