Perceiving amputee gait from biological motion: kinematics cues and effect of experience level

Physical therapists (PT) and clinicians must be skilled in identifying gait features through observation to assess motor deficits in patients and intervene appropriately. Inconsistent results in the literature have led researchers to question how clinical experience influences PT’s gait perception and to seek the key kinematic features that should be trained to enhance PT’s skill. Thus, this study investigated (1) what are the informative kinematic features that allow gait-deviation perception in amputee gait and (2) whether there are differences in observational gait skills between PT and individuals with less clinical experience (PT students [PTS] and Novices). We introduced a new method that combines biological motion and principal component analysis to gradually mesh amputee and typical walking patterns. Our analysis showed that on average the accuracy rate in identifying gait deviations between PT and PTS was similar and better than Novices. Also, we found that PT’s experience was demonstrated by their better perception of gait asymmetry. The extracted principal components demonstrated that the major gait deviation of amputees was the medial–lateral body sway and spatial gait asymmetry.