The study of muscle action during single support and swing phase of gait: clinical relevance of forward simulation techniques.

Individual muscle function during single stance and swing phase of gait were analyzed using muscle driven forward simulation. The activation of each of 22 muscles in a musculoskeletal model with seven degrees of freedom were excluded from the forward simulation and the resulting changes in joint angles studied. A classification of muscle function during single support and swing phase of gait is presented. Altered joint kinematics due to the absence of individual muscle action is discussed in the light of pathological gait kinematics and clinical decision-making.