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The Gait Cycle


  1. The Contact Phase

  2. The contact phase begins with heel strike on the lateral border of the calcaneus. The tibia internally rotates and the foot pronates at the subtalar joint throughout the contact phase. The 5th metatarsal makes contact with the ground as the foot continues rolling medially until the metatarsals become fully loaded at the conclusion of the contact phase. The contact phase is designed to convert the foot into a mobile adaptor and shock absorbing mechanism.

  3. The Midstance Phase

    The midstance phase converts the foot from a mobile adaptor into a rigid lever. During this phase the tibia externally rotates and the foot supinates at the subtalar joint preparing the foot for the propulsive phase.

  4. The Propulsive Phase

    The propulsive phase begins at heel lift. Just prior to heel lift the subtalar joint should approach the neutral position, whereby the forefoot and rearfoot lock together to enable effective toe-off. The foot continues to supinate during toe-off with external tibial rotation.

Motion of the Rearfoot

Motion at the subtalar joint is normally two-thirds supination and one-third pronation. Both pronation and supination are triplanar motions and are comprised of the following:

Pronation - Eversion, Abduction and Dorsiflexion

Supination - Inversion, Adduction and Plantarflexion

The Normal Lower Limb

The normal lower limb is represented by a 3-4 degree tibial varum angle. It forms a 3-4 degree curve from the vertical and is 'mildly bowed'. Hence, when the foot is correctly aligned at neutral to the leg, it forms a natural inverted position to the ground.