By: Melisa Luong, Registered Physiotherapist

Have you ever thought about the way you walk? Your walking mechanics or gait pattern can tell you many things about your body. 

Normal Gait Pattern

When walking normally, the trunk should stay centered around the pelvis and the spine should rotate and counter-rotate on a vertical axis. A common compensatory gait pattern is the appearance of walking with swagger. Contrary to the modern day definition of swagger, this is not a good thing when it comes to biomechanics. 

Trendelenburg Gait and Gluteus Medius Weakness

The gluteus medius muscle is responsible for hip abduction. This is important during walking because it maintains a level pelvis when you are weight bearing on one leg. 

As depicted, weakness in the gluteus medius causes the pelvis to tip down on the opposite side to the stance leg. This is also known as Trendelenburg gait. This creates more of a side to side movement which increases the activity of the trunk side flexors which can then lead to low back tightness and potentially pain. 

Strengthening Exercises

See below for exercises to help with strengthening the gluteus medius muscle and pelvis stabilization.

There are many factors that can alter a normal gait pattern. If you have any questions in regards to pelvis stability and walking, you can email me at melisa@honsbergerphysio.com. 

To book a biomechanical assessment, go to https://honsbergerphysio.janeapp.com