- Email: [email protected]
Preface to first edition
Prelim-H8883.qxp
9/26/06
10:07 AM
Page xi
Preface to first edition
Gait analysis is the systematic study of human walking. It is often helpful in the medical management of those diseases which affect the locomotor system. Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in the subject, particularly among practitioners and students of physical therapy, bio-engineering, neurology and rehabilitation. Most previous books on the subject have been written for specialists and are thus unsuitable for the student or general reader. I have attempted to write an introductory textbook, with the aim of providing the reader with a solid grounding in the subject but without assuming a particular background or level of prior knowledge. Chapter 1 is devoted to the basic sciences underlying gait analysis – anatomy, physiology and biomechanics. It is intended to give the reader who is new to these subjects the minimum required to make sense of gait analysis. It should also provide a refresher course for those who have once had such knowledge but forgotten it, as well as being a convenient source of reference material. Chapters 2 and 3 deal with normal gait and pathological gait respectively, showing the remarkable efficiency of the normal walking process and the various ways in which it may be affected by disease. Chapter 4 is devoted to methods of measurement, pointing out that gait analysis does not have to be difficult or expensive but that the more complicated systems provide detailed information which cannot be obtained in any other way. The final chapter, Chapter 5, deals with the applications of gait analysis. This is the area in which the most progress is to be anticipated in the future. The literature of the field is heavily biased towards research rather than clinical application but the value of the methodology is gradually coming to be realized in a number of clinical conditions. I deliberately avoided giving references to theses and conference proceedings, since these may be difficult to find. Chapter 1 contains no references at all, as everything in it should be easy to find in standard textbooks. I have restricted the number of references quoted in the remainder of the book, not through ignorance or laziness but rather in an attempt to identify only the most important references on particular topics. These will in turn lead on to other references, should the reader wish to study that topic in greater detail. Those not familiar with it should ask their librarian about the Science Citation Index, which uses key references from the past to identify more recent publications in the same field. I have used the Système International (SI) units throughout this book. I make no apology for this – everyone working in this field should be using the measurement units of science, rather than those of the grocery store! However, conversions are given in Appendix 2.
Prelim-H8883.qxp
9/26/06
10:07 AM
Page xii
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION
Since the origins of this book are international, it is hoped that it will appeal to an international readership. It was written during my last few months at the University of Oxford, UK, and my first few months at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in the USA. It draws on reference material from both sides of the Atlantic and parts of it were written on journeys across that ocean! Michael W. Whittle Chattanooga, Tennessee May 1990
9/26/06
10:07 AM
Page xi
Preface to first edition
Gait analysis is the systematic study of human walking. It is often helpful in the medical management of those diseases which affect the locomotor system. Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in the subject, particularly among practitioners and students of physical therapy, bio-engineering, neurology and rehabilitation. Most previous books on the subject have been written for specialists and are thus unsuitable for the student or general reader. I have attempted to write an introductory textbook, with the aim of providing the reader with a solid grounding in the subject but without assuming a particular background or level of prior knowledge. Chapter 1 is devoted to the basic sciences underlying gait analysis – anatomy, physiology and biomechanics. It is intended to give the reader who is new to these subjects the minimum required to make sense of gait analysis. It should also provide a refresher course for those who have once had such knowledge but forgotten it, as well as being a convenient source of reference material. Chapters 2 and 3 deal with normal gait and pathological gait respectively, showing the remarkable efficiency of the normal walking process and the various ways in which it may be affected by disease. Chapter 4 is devoted to methods of measurement, pointing out that gait analysis does not have to be difficult or expensive but that the more complicated systems provide detailed information which cannot be obtained in any other way. The final chapter, Chapter 5, deals with the applications of gait analysis. This is the area in which the most progress is to be anticipated in the future. The literature of the field is heavily biased towards research rather than clinical application but the value of the methodology is gradually coming to be realized in a number of clinical conditions. I deliberately avoided giving references to theses and conference proceedings, since these may be difficult to find. Chapter 1 contains no references at all, as everything in it should be easy to find in standard textbooks. I have restricted the number of references quoted in the remainder of the book, not through ignorance or laziness but rather in an attempt to identify only the most important references on particular topics. These will in turn lead on to other references, should the reader wish to study that topic in greater detail. Those not familiar with it should ask their librarian about the Science Citation Index, which uses key references from the past to identify more recent publications in the same field. I have used the Système International (SI) units throughout this book. I make no apology for this – everyone working in this field should be using the measurement units of science, rather than those of the grocery store! However, conversions are given in Appendix 2.
Prelim-H8883.qxp
9/26/06
10:07 AM
Page xii
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION
Since the origins of this book are international, it is hoped that it will appeal to an international readership. It was written during my last few months at the University of Oxford, UK, and my first few months at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in the USA. It draws on reference material from both sides of the Atlantic and parts of it were written on journeys across that ocean! Michael W. Whittle Chattanooga, Tennessee May 1990