Absorbent paper method for recording foot placement during gait. Suggestion from the field.

PROBLEM A simple inexpensive method was needed to record foot placement of the gait pattern of severely to profoundly retarded clients. The methods previously reported in the literature were impractical for a variety of reasons. Some were too expensive and too sophisticated for the basic information we needed to collect.1–3 Others required the use of indelible substances applied to the feet or footwear,3–5 and our subjects could not be depended upon to confine their walking to the prepared walkway. Our entire facility is carpeted, so this was a major concern. Furthermore, our subjects would not readily tolerate the application of pads or other material to their feet or shoes, nor could they understand the necessity for leaving these in place until gait recording was completed. Their interest in the materials on their feet precluded conducting natural walking trials. METHOD To circumvent these difficulties, a method was devised using absorbent paper overlaying water-soaked material placed on top of a protective floor covering.…