The Gait Workbook: A Practical Guide to Clinical Gait Analysis.

The Gait Workbook: A Practical Guide to Clinical Gait Analysis Bruckner J. Thorofare, NJ 08086, Slack Inc, 1998, paperback, 190 pp, $30.

Developed from the author's classroom materials on human development and gait, this book breaks down gait into manageable pieces and then looks at gait as a whole through a new lens. The book, a true workbook with an answer key, is an intriguing mix of all learning domains because each chapter requires various levels of cognitive ability, psychomotor skill, and effective analysis. An outstanding and commendable aspect of this book is the inclusion of chapters on pathological gait and gait throughout the life span.

There are 7 chapters in the book; the first 5 chapters cover the mechanics of gait by body section. The first chapter gives an overview of terms and nicely correlates the traditional terms for gait with the Rancho Los Amigos terms that are used throughout the book. Like all the other chapters, there are activities to be done in a group that are suitable for the classroom and thought activities that can be completed either individually or in a group. The next 4 chapters move from the foot and ankle, to the knee, to the hip, and finally to the head, arms, and trunk. Each chapter follows essentially the same pattern, covering terminology, normal functional anatomy, pathologic function, activities, and questions for further thought. This organization gives a symmetry to the book that helps the reader anticipate the development of the complete picture on gait and reinforces the strategies used to master the materials in the previous chapter. Instead of trying to cover tangential topics, the author recommends that the reader refer to another appropriate text.

The book covers the very familiar material on gait in a challenging and organized fashion, but it is in the last 2 chapters that the book presents its most novel material. In these chapters, the author invites the reader to think beyond the mechanics of gait to the comprehensive impact of gait on function, lifestyle, culture, and heritage. Chapter 6, "Gait Through the Life Span," follows the same format of previous chapters, but the psychomotor activities and questions for thought are unique and commendable. Trying to imagine and then demonstrate the gait of "a 25-year-old woman who is very tired" and "a 95-year-old man who is very sexy" exposes ageist thought and the lack of research and practical information on gait throughout life. With its clinical examples, Chapter 7 on pathological gait will help students prepare for the many gait deviations seen in the clinic.

The book has a few technical flaws book such as misnumbering or mislabeling in the answer key. The electromyography tracings and motion analysis graphs throughout the book require a high degree of technical understanding of muscle function and the gait cycle. This level of expertise may be needed in a gait analysis lab but is likely to be beyond what is practical or available in a clinic or hospital on a daily basis. The anatomy discussion at the start of each chapter is a little light, and there is no mention of the patellofemoral joint and the potential pathomechanics of gait related to it.

Overall, this book will be a useful addition to a course on gait because it encourages collaboration through the activities and analysis through the questions and because it raises issues that will force students to question the paradigm through which they view gait.

Melissa Wolf-Burke, PT, ATC University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville Knoxville, Term

Ms Wolff-Burke is Senior Physical Therapist at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.