Gait Cycle

This course provides an educational explanation of the fundamentals of human walking biomechanics, specifically detailing the gait cycle and how gait analysis is performed. It is intended as a teaching resource, covering phases of the gait cycle (such as stance and swing phases) and illustrating the clinical relevance of analyzing walking patterns, particularly for physiotherapy or rehabilitation contexts — consistent with typical content on gait in physical therapy education.

No Certificate / Course on Audit Track

About Course

The Gait Cycle course provides learners with a structured understanding of the biomechanics of human walking and the sequential phases involved in normal gait. The course explains the stance and swing phases of the gait cycle, along with their sub-phases, highlighting the coordinated movement of the lower limbs during locomotion.

Students will be introduced to the principles of gait analysis and its clinical relevance in physiotherapy and rehabilitation settings. Emphasis is placed on recognizing normal versus abnormal gait patterns, understanding functional implications, and applying gait analysis concepts to support assessment, treatment planning, and outcome evaluation in clinical practice.

Authorship and Attribution

This course has been curated by Riphah International University faculty and staff using publicly available third-party content and Open Educational Resources (OER) for self-paced learning. Learners will engage with curated open-access materials to achieve the course learning outcomes. All third-party content is used under open-access or fair-use policies, while any original materials are developed specifically for this learning experience.

Source and Credits:

  • Instructor: Physiotutors
  • Provider: YouTube (@Physiotutors)
  • License: Standard YouTube license

What You'll Learn

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • To define the components of the normal gait cycle, including stance and swing phases, and differentiate between step and stride.
  • To describe the sequential events of the gait cycle, including initial contact, loading response, mid-stance, terminal stance, pre-swing, and swing phases.
  • To explain the biomechanical and temporal characteristics of normal walking patterns relevant to clinical assessment.
  • To identify key observational markers used in basic gait analysis to detect deviations from normal gait.

Prerequisites

Students are expected to possess foundational knowledge of human anatomy and musculoskeletal biomechanics, particularly of the lower limb joints and major muscle groups involved in locomotion.

They should also have a basic understanding of kinesiology concepts, including joint movements, planes of motion, and terminology commonly used in clinical movement analysis.

Who Can Take This Course?

This course is for 4th semester Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students enrolled in Biomechanics and ergonomics II

Course Outline

Human Gait Cycle effects

Phases and Mechanics of the Human Gait Cycle (Video)

Skills You Will Gain

Gait Phase Identification Walking Biomechanics Analysis Clinical Gait Assessment Abnormal Gait Pattern Recognition Rehabilitation-Oriented Interpretation

Course Information

Duration

Approximately 10 Minutes

Course Information

Difficulty Level

Beginner

Learning Mode

Fully Online (Asynchronous)

Learning Type

Self Paced

Language

English Only

Instructor/Curator

Course Instructor
  • Dr. Aneela Zia profile image
    Dr. Aneela Zia Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Rehabilitation & Allied Health Sciences