The way in which we all walk is quite distinctive and almost no one does it the same way. There are lots of unique major as well as subtle minor variations. These variations can help to identify individuals on CCTV video clips as part of forensic investigations as well as being valuable in gait studies to examine clinical problems. There are now experts in the analysis of gait for the forensic identification. As well as that there are now some very sophisticated gear and methods for the clinical gait analysis. Both the forensic and clinical gait analyses concentrate on precisely what makes us distinctive in the way which we walk and to evaluate those varieties.
One of these variants is what is generally known as an abductory twist. This is often observed in clinical gait analyses because it will have consequences for the treatment of biomechanical problems. When we walk, as the heel lifts of the ground, the rearfoot should comes up vertically. However, in a group of people just as the rearfoot comes of the ground there may be a sudden motion of the rearfoot medially or towards the other foot. Often it is only apparent to those that are experienced in looking for it or on a video if the video is slowed down. There are a few possible causes of this. One is overpronation of the foot, which is a rolling of the ankle joint inwards and a collapse of the arch of the foot. An additional probable cause is a functional hallux limitus that is a issue with the big toe joint not working correctly. There is some disagreement if this really is a clinical problem or not. This is because many think about this as a symptom of the issue rather than a real condition. They believe that treatment should be geared towards the reason why rather than the abductory twist. The existence or absence of an abductory twist could also be part of the forensic examination.