LOCOMOTION

IN HUMANS
MUSCLES AND BONES INVOLVED IN WALKING

Locomotion
Locomotion on land involves the animal moving through air, which offers relatively little
resistance to movement. Contraction of the muscles causes the limbs to act as levers, pressing
downwards and backwards into the ground. As a result of this a force acts upwards and
forwards on the animal. This force brings about locomotion. By altering the angle at which the
limb presses into the ground, the balance between the forward force and the upward force can
be altered, allowing for leaps into the air and low, fast running.
Newtons third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Land
animals use this to propel themselves along.
In humans, walking is the main method of locomotion. Walking involves all the joints of the
lower limb, and is characterised by an inverted pendulum motion, in which the body vaults
over the non moving limb.

Gait
Human gait refers to locomotion achieved through the movement of human limbs. The walk is a gait
which keeps at least one foot in contact with the ground at all times. The gait cycle is the time interval
between the exact same repetitive events of walking that generally begin when one foot contacts the
ground.
The cycle itself contains two phases a stance phase and a swing phase:

Stance phase: Accounts for 60% of the gait cycle. It occurs when the foot is in contact with the
ground. It can be divided into the heel strike, support and toe-off phases.

Swing phase: Accounts for 40% of the cycle. It is the part of gait cycle when the foot is not in
contact with the ground. It can be divided into the leg lift and swing phases and is non weight
bearing phase of gait

Stance Phase

Heel-Strike
In the heel-strike stage, the foot hits the ground heel first. There are three muscles/muscle sets
involved, each acting at a different joint:
o Gluteus maximus acts on the hip to decelerate the lower limb.
o Quadriceps femoris keeps the leg extended at the knee and hip.
o Anterior compartment of the leg maintains the ankle dorsiflexion, positioning the heel
for the strike.

Support
After the heel strike stage, the leading leg hits the ground, and the muscles work to cope with
the force passing through the leg. This is known as the support stage.
o Quadriceps femoris keeps the leg extended, accepting the weight of the body.
o Foot inverters and everters contract in a balanced manner to stablise the foot.
o Gluteus minimus, medius and tensor fascia lata abduct the lower limb, keeping the
pelvis level by conteracting the imbalance counteracting the imbalance created
by having most of the bodyweight on one leg.

Toe-Off
In the toe-off phase, the foot prepares the leave the ground heel first, toes last.
o Hamstring muscles extends the leg at the hip.
o Quadriceps femoris maintains the extended position of the knee.
o Posterior compartment of the leg plantarflexes the ankle. The prime movers include
gastrocnemius, soleus and tibialis posterior.

Leg Lift
Once the foot has left the ground, the lower limb is raised in preparation for the swing stage.
o Iliopsoas and rectus femoris flexes the lower limb at the hip, driving the knee
forwards.
o Hamstring muscles flexes the lower limb at the knee joint.
o Anterior compartment of the leg dorsiflexes the ankle.

Swing Phase
In the swing phase, the raised leg is propelled forward. This is where the forward motion of the walk
occurs.
o

Iliopsoas and rectus femoris keep the hip flexed, resisting gravity as it tries to pull the
leg down.

Quadriceps femoris extends the knee, positioning the foot for landing.

Anterior compartment of the leg maintains ankle dorsiflexion so that the heel is in place
for landing.

Next, the heel hits the ground, and the whole cycle repeats.

Bones involved in Walking

Although it can be argues that almost every bone in the body takes part in walking, from a practical point
of view it is only necessary to consider the bones of the pelvis and legs.
The pelvis is formed from the sacrum, the
coccyx and the two innominate bones. The
sacrum consists of the five sacral vertebrae,
fused together. The coccyx is the vestigial tail,
made of three to five rudimentary vertebrae.
The innominate bone on each side is formed by
the fusion of three bones the ilium, ischium
and pubis. The only real movement between
the bones of the pelvis occurs at the sacroiliac
joint, and this movement is ver small. The
superior surface of the sacrum articulates with
the fifth lumbar vertebra of the spine. On each
side of the lower part of the pelvis is the
acetabulum of the hip joint, into which fits the
head of the femur.
The femur is the longest bone in the body. The
spherical femoral head articulates with the
pelvic acetabulum to form the hip joint. The
neck of the femur runs downwards and
laterally from the femoral head to meet the
shaft of the bone, which continues downwards
to the knee joint. At the junction of the neck
and the shaft are two bony protuberances. The
bone widens at its lower end to form the

medial and lateral condyles. These form the upper half of the knee joint, and have a groove between
them anteriorly, which articulates with the patella.
The patella or kneecap is a sesamoid bone. The anterior surface of the patella is subcutaneous. Its
posterior surface articulates with the anterior sruface of the lower end of the femur to form the
patellofemoral joint.
The tibia extends from the knee joint to the ankle joint. Its upper end is broadened into medial and
lateral condyles, with an almost flat upper surface which articulates with the femur. The tibial tubercle is
a small bony prominence on the front of the tibia, where the patellar tendon is inserted. The anterior
surface of the tibia is subcutaneous. The lower end of the tibia forms the upper and medial surfaces of
the ankle joint, with a subcutaneous medial projection called the medial malleolus.
The fibulla is next to the tibia on its lateral side. For most of its length it is a fairly slim bone, although the
upper end is broadened a little to form the head. The lower end is also broadened, to form the lateral
part of the ankle joint, with a subcutaneous lateral projection known as the lateral malleolus. The tibia
and fibula are in contact with each other at both upper and lower ends, as the tibiofibular joints.
Movements at these joints are very small.
The foot is thought of as being in three parts:
o The hindfoot, which consists of two bones, one
on top of the other.
o The midfoot, which consists of five bones,
packed closely together.
o The forefoot, which consists of the five
metatarsals and the toes.
The talus is the uper of the two bones in the
hindfoot. Its superior surface forma the ankle joint,
articulating above and medially with the tibia, and
laterally with the fibula. Below, the talus articulates
with the calcaneus through the subtalar joint. It
articulates anteriorly with the most medial of the
midfoot bones the navicular.

The calcaneus lies below the talus, and articluates

with it through the subtalar joint. It lower surface
transmits the body weight to the ground through a
thick layer of fat, fibrous tissue and skin. The
anterior surface articulates with the most inferior
and lateral of the midfoot bones the cuboid.
The midfoot consists of five bones:
o
o
o

The navicular
The cuboid
Three cuneiform bones

The five metatarsals lie rougly parallel to each other, the lateral two articulating with the cuboid, and the
medial three with the cuneiform bones.
The phalanges are the bones of the toes; there are two in the big toe and three in each of the other toes.
The big toe is also called the hallux.

Joint Motions in Gait

Trunk and Upper Extremities
o

The swing of the arms is out of phase with the legs

As the upper body moves forward, the trunk twists about a vertical axis

The thoracic spine and the pelvis rotate in opposite directions to each other to enhance
stability and balance

The lumbar spine tends to rotate with the pelvis

The shoulders and trunk rotate out of phase with each other during the gait cycle

Pelvis
o

For normal gait to occur, the pelvis must both rotate and tilt

Sacroiliac Joint
o

As the right leg moves through the swing period, the position of the right innominate
changes from one of extreme anterior rotation at the point of pre-swing to a position of
posterior rotation at the point of initial contact

As the right extremity moves through the loading response to mid stance, the ilium on
that side begins to convert from a posteriorly rotated position to a neutrally rotated
position. From mid stance to terminal stance, the ilium rotates anteriorly, achieving
maximum position at terminal stance

The sacrum rotates forward around a diagonal axis during the loading response, reaching
its maximum position at mid stance (e.g., right rotation on a right oblique axis at right
mid stance), and then begins to reverse itself during terminal stance

Hip motion occurs in all three planes during the gait cycle

The knee flexes twice and extends twice during each gait cycle: once during weight
bearing and once during non-weight bearing

Hip

Knee

Foot and ankle

o

At initial contact with the ground the ankle is dorsiflexed

During the loading response interval, plantar flexion occurs at the talocrural joint, with
pronation occurring at the subtalar joint

At the end of the mid stance interval, the talocrural joint is maximally dorsiflexed, and
the subtalar joint begins to supinate

From the mid stance to the terminal stance interval the foot is in supination

Once the ankle is fully close-packed, the heel is lifted by a combination of passive force
and contraction from the taut gastrocnemius, and the soleus

Sources
1. http://www.kean.edu/~jeadams/docs/Kinesiology/Kines_Power_Points/Kines_Chap_9.pdf
2. http://www.footeducation.com/foot-and-ankle-basics/biomechanics-of-foot-andankle/biomechanics-of-walking-gait/
3. http://www.physio-pedia.com/Gait
4. http://www.boneschool.com/lower-limb/foot-and-ankle/miscellaneous/rocker-phases-gait
5. http://boneandspine.com/normal-gait-cycle/
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gait_(human)
7. http://www.physio-pedia.com/Gait_in_prosthetic_rehabilitation
8. http://teachmeanatomy.info/lower-limb/misc/walking-and-gaits/
9. Whittle, M. W. (2014). Gait Analysis: An Introduction. Elsevier Science. ButterworthHeinemann. Retrieved from https://books.google.ae/books?id=dYHiBQAAQBAJ