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Analysis of Human Locomotion

Accession number: 
1980.0128
Production Years: 
1960 to 1980

Languages:

Film Properties: 
Length (minutes): 
14
Holding Institutions: 

University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario: 16mm.
"Humans have walked erect for over 200,000 years, but it has only been in the last decade, through modern technology, that we have been able to understand how. Human locomotion can be broken down into four areas of study—temporal information, muscle activity, anthropometrics, and kinematics. The analysis of each type of information is presented, and, under laboratory conditions, the use of the different pieces of scientific equipment is explained. Next, the clinical applications for the study are presented. Medical problems due to hemiplegia, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, scoliosis, and amputations can all be aided by the study of human locomotion. A girl is shown being tested to help her physician come to a decision for treatment of her disability. The narrator concludes that we have come to realize the potential of biomedical engineering research within a clinical environment. We are now just beginning to understand how humans really walk."