Evaluation of a clinical method of gait analysis.

Data on step and stride length, step width, foot angle, and cadence were collected from a sample of 30 normal women. The gait patterns were recorded on white paper by a method which involved the application of moleskin and ink to the soles of the subjects' shoes. The purpose of the investigation was to demonstrate the validity, technical reliability, and clinical feasibility of this method of gait analysis. The values obtained compared favorably with the results of a similarly designed laboratory study cited in the literature. In addition, the method was easy to apply, was not time consuming, and yielded data which were reproducible at greater than a 95% level of confidence.