WHY MEASURE GAIT ?

"There is a defined need for objective measurement of gait because without it the quality of treatment decisions is reduced because of the subjective and often unreliable nature of the assessment. Objective measures must also be employed if one is to demonstrate the efficacy of a treatment protocol, a function that will become increasingly important as health care resources become more strained and health care providers are held more accountable... Gait assessment is an everyday responsibility for the practicing therapist. Visual assessment, which is almost universally used for this purpose, has been shown to be unreliable at best. Measurement of the temporal and distance factors of gait have been found to be clinically useful."

James C Wall, PhD., Denis Brunt PT., EdD. Chapter 17, Clinical Gait Analysis: Temporal and Distance Parameters.
Assesment in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy
Edited by J.V. Van Deussen. 1996