ABSTRACT
Although they share certain similarities the movements involved in running differ from walking in a number of ways. The major differences are described below.
Hip: at foot strike the hip is flexed to approximately 45∞ (greater than in walking where this is typically 30∞), this angle is maintained during early stance by knee flexion. During drive-off the hip extends to approximately 9∞ at toe-off (the same as walking). Flexion during the swing phase reaches about 55∞ (only reaching 25∞ during walking). Knee: At heel strike the knee is flexed to an angle of approximately 25∞; it is never straight at impact (knee flexion of 10∞ during walking). The knee flexes to about 40∞ by mid-stance (only 20∞ during walking). From mid-stance the knee extends to toe-off. During swing the maximum knee flexion reaches 90∞ (maximum flexion of 60∞ during walking). Ankle: the ankle reaches maximum dorsiflexion of about 30∞ by mid-stance. Plantar flexion at toe-off is significantly greater than in walking reaching 20∞ compared with only 5∞ in walking.
