Gait Analysis (Back)

The Gait Analysis Laboratory at Musgrave Park Hospital is one of only ten such facilities in the United Kingdom. The Laboratory was installed in 1992, funded mainly by the hospital charity MITRE. The Gait Lab mainly provides services for children with cerebral palsy or spina bifida.

The Laboratory is used to record the walking pattern of a patient in order to help diagnose specific movement problems and to plan a patient’s treatment. Various tests are performed, using sophisticated equipment to:

All the information collected in the laboratory is then processed by a computer. This is interpreted and a report is sent to the referring surgeon.

Treatment can include surgery, injections, physiotherapy or splinting.

Once treatment has been completed, repeat analyses enables the effects to be evaluated.