2023 FUNDAMENTALS OF NURSING [NUR 211] -GAIT TRANING SIMPLIFIED CLASS NOTES

2023 FUNDAMENTALS OF NURSING [NUR 211] -GAIT TRANING SIMPLIFIED CLASS NOTES Gait training For most people, walking just happens with no time spent thinking about how to move the body forward. But for others, usually due to illness, aging, or injury that results in a poor gait, walking can be quite difficult. For instance, a defective gait tends to throw the body off balance, making it hard to keep one foot in front of another and move efficiently. In turn, it becomes more difficult to move from one place to another without frequent tripping, stumbling, or dizzy spells. Then the confidence to navigate challenging terrain fades and mobility is impaired. Gait training refers to helping a patient relearn to walk safely and efficiently. Gait training is usually done by rehabilitation specialists who evaluate the abnormalities in the person's gait and employ such treatments as strengthening and balance training to improve stability and body perception as these pertain to the patient's environment. Gait training often incorporates the use of such assistive devices as parallel bars, walkers, or canes to promote safe and proficient ambulation. In order to walk again without assistance, the patient will need mental attentiveness and adequate sensation, coordinated with adequate musculoskeletal functioning and motor control. Purpose A person's gait is a pattern of stepping or walking that is specific to that individual. Gait training is needed to help a specific patient gain proficient and safe ambulation within and outside the home with or without an assistive device. Patients usually require gait training if there is some lower trunk or lower limb dysfunction. This dysfunction is often associated with neurological or orthopedic impairment. Complications that may require gait training include: Muscle weakness Deformity Spasticity (the presence of abnormal involuntary muscular contractions) Loss of sensation due to injury or disease that results in inaccurate sensory information and unsafe or inefficient motion Pain in the weight-bearing joints of the lower extremities, which causes distortion of normal gait These complications may result from injury to or amputation of the lower extremities; surgery; osteoarthritis or other disorders of the weight-bearing joints; muscular dystrophy ; muscle atrophy due to long periods of inactivity or bed rest; lesions of the brain or spinal cord ; or changes in perception and other body functions that are part of the aging process. Normal gait In order to understand gait training, the reader may find a descriptive outline of normal human gait helpful. Human gait is measured from heel strike to heel strike, also known as the gait cycle or "one stride." The gait cycle has two phases, the stance (about 60% of the cycle) and the swing (about 40%). The point at which the body's weight is transferred from one foot to the other, when both feet are touching the ground, is called double stance or double support time. The speed of a person's walk is called the gait velocity, and the rhythm of their walk is called the cadence. Cadence is usually related to the length of the person's leg and their overall height; short people typically take smaller steps at a more rapid cadence while taller people take larger steps at a slower cadence. Key Terms