Phases of Walking Gait

In this slow-motion video of a young woman walking (uploaded by Daniel Leary at the phases of walking gait can be clearly seen. “Stance phase“ is the phase of walking gait when the foot in on the ground while “swing phase“ is the phase of walking gait when the foot is off the ground. Stance phase begins when the heel first contacts the ground at “heel contact“ which is also the beginning of the “contact phase“ of walking. Contact phase then ends as the forefoot becomes fully loaded by ground reaction force (GRF) at “forefoot loading“. Forefoot loading also marks the beginning of the “midstance phase“ of walking gait at the center of mass (CoM) of the body passes from posterior to anterior to the planted foot. Midstance phase then ends at “heel off“ which occurs the instant the heel lifts from the ground. “Propulsive phase“ then begins at heel off and ends at “toe off“. Toe off occurs at the instant the toes lift away from the ground. Therefore, the beginning of