what-when-how
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or loading patterns. Thus, every patient is individual in how their foot
performs.
Phase 1 of gait
The foot normally contacts the ground via the posterior/lateral part of the
plantar surface of the heel. The heel is typically inverted relative to the
ground and to the leg, and the plantar surface of the foot angled 90
degrees or more relative to the leg (
Figure 1.5
).
Ankle plantarflexion brings the rest of the heel and then midfoot into
ground contact. The heel everts relative to the leg and ground and
abducts relative to the leg.
The force applied to the body by the ground rises rapidly in this period,
reaching a peak of typically 1.2 times body weight. Some people exhibit
a very high loading rate in the first few milliseconds of gait when walking
barefoot, a so-called heel strike transient, but this disappears with most
footwear as the shoes help attenuate the rate at which load is applied to
the plantar surface of the foot.
figure 1.5
Phase 1 heel strike
