Functional anatomy included the teaching of kinesiology and biomechanics, which became predominant as I taught both normal and abnormal gait to these students. Locomotion is the process by which we move from one position to another. This process is a continuum from standing to walking to running and involves starting, stopping, changing directions, and altering speed.
Most mammals are quadrupedal, but man is bipedal.
The mastering of erect bipedal locomotion appears to be a learned activity and thus, each of us displays peculiarities that are superimposed on the basic pattern of bipedal locomotion. Therefore, on analyzing human gait, one should explain the similarities as well as the dissimilarities and then describe how these variations may represent an impairment. The authors were selected as experts from multiple rehabilitation specialties to give the readers an understanding of how gait analysis can be used to evaluate a person's walking abilities to maximize function and maintain or improve quality of life. It is my belief that instrumented gait analysis systems offer objective evaluation of the effectiveness of the various rehabilitation treatments that are aimed at improving gait disabilities. Current recognized uses are in the gait patterns of persons with spastic paralysis to evaluate various orthopedic procedures such as tendon transfers, tenotomies, and rhizotomies pre- and postoperatively.